By AP November 3, 2009
The PGA Tour is leaving the FedEx Cup just as it is with the playoff schedule and points system.
Rick George, chief of operations for the PGA Tour, said any adjustment to the points system was not on the agenda and not discussed at a policy board meeting earlier this week.
"We think the FedEx Cup did a lot of positive things and met the objectives we set for it," George said Tuesday. "We don't anticipate it changing."
It would be the first time since the FedEx Cup began in 2006 that the points system was left alone.
Tiger Woods won the $10 million bonus this year with two runner-up finishes and a victory during the FedEx Cup playoffs, although four players had a chance to win the cup on the back nine of the Tour Championship.
The playoff schedule will stay the same for the third straight year, which includes a week off after the third playoff event, the BMW Championship on Sept. 9-12 outside Chicago. The Tour Championship is Sept. 23-26.
PGA Tour officials had been polling players about changing the playoff schedule in 2010 because of the Ryder Cup, which will be played in Wales the week after the Tour Championship. Most U.S. team members will be playing five times in six weeks, concluding with one of the most draining weeks in golf at the Ryder Cup.
Among the options were to have the dark week after two playoff events, although most players figured it would be better to take a break after two playoff events only in non-Ryder Cup years.
Meanwhile, the Turning Stone Resort Championship which had been part of the Fall Series, has been moved into the FedEx Cup portion of the schedule as an opposite-field event. Turning Stone will be played Aug. 5-8, the same week as the Bridgestone Invitational. While it no longer is held in October, Turning Stone -- in Verona, N.Y. -- will not have access to top players who will be competing at a World Golf Championship.
"They have a desire to get into the FedEx Cup season," George said. "They offer FedEx points, and it's at a time that is much better for them to showcase the great property they have."
Milwaukee is not part of the PGA Tour schedule for the first time since 1968 after its title sponsor, U.S. Bank, did not renew its contract. It had been played in recent years the same week as the British Open. Now, that date goes to the Reno-Tahoe Open, which had been held the same week as Firestone.
The 2010 season begins Jan. 7 with the SBS Championship at Kapalua for previous year's champions, and continues with the Sony Open in Honolulu and the Bob Hope Classic in the California desert.
The West Coast swing has been rearranged this year. The Northern Trust Open at Riviera will be held Feb. 4-7, the same week as the Super Bowl, with the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-am the following week.
The FBR Open outside Phoenix, which traditionally is the same week as the Super Bowl, will be the anchor of the West Coast swing next year. It will be held Feb. 25-28, a week after the Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz.
The tour has 37 events during the FedEx Cup season, adding The Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia the last week in July to replace the Buick Open. The Fall Series portion of the schedule was not released. Now that Turning Stone has moved to August, only four tournaments in the Fall Series are under contract through next year, down from seven tournaments in 2008.
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