Honestly, the FedEx Cup Just Doesn't Deliver for Fans Like it Does Players

Since the inception of the FedEx Cup, golf's playoff system, it has been widely viewed as a system to keep fans interested after the majors have past.

For the most part, it has kept fans interested all the way to the finish in Atlanta. However, those fans that are still watching are dedicated fans of the game, who watch tournaments no matter who is playing (for the most part).

How many times can you walk into a bar and strike up a conversation with a random patron about the FedEx Cup and who will win? The answer is not many.

That is why the PGA Tour is constantly tweaking this playoff system year to year. Each change makes it more appealing to the casual fan, because that is the market the PGA Tour wants to cater to at this point in the year.

Although the FedEx Cup was invented for the fans, it has always been about one thing, the players.

You can argue that it is all about the fans and ratings, but the actually system is more exciting for the people most involved.

How great was it to see a "journeyman" like Heath Slocum battle four of the top golfers in the world. Seeing the names atop the leader board such as Woods, Harrington, Els and Stricker would make most crumble before they could even get to their next shot. Granted Els isn't close to where he was in the past, however, he is still widely respected as a great player.

Slocum almost missed out on golf's playoff. Only the top 125 even get to participate in the race for $10 million dollars. He was ranked 124.

After his putt from 21-feet dropped into the hole on the 72nd hole for the win at the Barclays, so did his rank. He made the leap from 124th, to third.

While his win will be forgotten by the time the Mercedes Championship rolls around, the PGA Tour will always have this win in mind.

Timing is everything according to the many people walking this Earth, Heath Slocum just found out exactly what that means. Although the Cup chase is supposedly "year long", it is the weeks following the PGA Championship that matter most.

The players know this, and the players know it is win or go home during the last few weeks of the PGA Tour season. The fans just see another tournament, and when it came down to East Lake last year, the Cup was already decided, barring a traumatic episode. Vijay Singh had to simply finish, just play all the holes necessary and score did not matter.

To the fans, that is not exciting. To the players it is not as exciting. However, when the PGA Championship ends, all the players start to get ready for the chase of a lifetime. Four tournaments to decide a large sum of money.

The players know what is on the line, the casual fan does not.

While the PGA Tour is taking the necessary steps to make the Cup more relevant for the fans, it will always be just another tournament each week.

Slocum had a great win yesterday, one that shouldn't be forgotten, but it will be.

It goes to show the FedEx Cup is more about the players when Slocum's win would have been just as significant at any "stock" tournament played throughout the year.