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To: Chris Forte who wrote (7095)	10/28/2005 10:32:53 PM
From: Jeffrey Beckman	Respond to of 13724

PGA Tour to shake up schedule in 2007 by Tom Spousta, USA TODAY PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- The PGA Tour's plan to repackage its 2007 schedule includes a points chase and a late-summer, high-stakes, playoff run as negotiations for a new television contract heat up in November. All pieces have yet to be locked in place, but Commissioner Tim Finchem plans to unveil some details Wednesday at the Tour Championship in Atlanta. The schedule and television proposal won't be approved until the policy board meets Nov. 7 at PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. "There will be just as many rounds of golf in '07 as in '06," said Davis Love III, one of four players on the policy board privy to negotiations. "A lot of players think tournaments are going to get canceled. We'll have just as many tournaments, just a different order." By restructuring the schedule, the PGA Tour hopes to spark interest amid tough competition with football and other major sports for television ratings while bringing together top players such as Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson, who seldom play the same late-season events. Players and two Tour officials with knowledge of the proposed plan who asked not to be identified because of the upcoming announcement, say some of the changes include: * A points chase and playoff system. Players will accumulate points during the season and earn their way into an August-September series of four tournaments with significantly higher purses. * The series will culminate with the Tour Championship, which will move from November to September. Participation in those four events will be based on yearlong performance. * The Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, the Barclays Classic near New York and the Cialis Western Open outside Chicago have been lined up as the three events leading up to the Tour Championship. * Six or seven tournaments will follow the Tour Championship. Although those events won't be part of the "Chase," they will count toward official money rankings. Thus, players will still have opportunity to improve their money status and earn spots in majors and top invitationals. "It's going to reward guys that are playing well," Vijay Singh said. "The tournaments after the schedule that they've planned out, they're still going to be there. They want some sort of finale." Still, player Robert Gamez believes purses and playing opportunities will be lightened. "I don't think we need to go and do this point system and change the schedule for 1% out of our Tour," Gamez said. "I think that's kind of where we're heading. You've got 1 percent of the Tour that wants to play fewer events, and they don't care about the Disneys and the tournaments at the end of the year that made the Tour what it is." Some tournament directors are uneasy, too. "It's like waiting on Hurricane Wilma," said Gerald Goodman, who runs this week's Chrysler Championship, one of several late-season events that might be caught in the shuffle. To see more of USAToday.com, or to subscribe, go to usatoday.com