Every week of the 2009 PGA Tour season, the editorial staff of the SI Golf Group will conduct an e-mail roundtable. Check in on Mondays for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors.
Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: We've got a lot on the table this week but nothing bigger than the Deutsche Bank Championship, which had it all — Tiger Woods lighting it up on the undercard Monday with a hole-out from the fairway and a 63, followed by a tight finish. The way things have gone this year, this thing figured to have Jason Dufner's name all over it.
Sorry, Duff, but Steve Stricker's birdie-birdie finish won it. Once again, we behold the power of cheese. Stricker is now No. 1 in FedEx Cup race, passing Tiger. Do you care yet about the FedEx Cup? Or should we just enjoy this as a thrilling finish to a tournament?
Tonight we're joined by a special guest, former Greater Vancouver Open champion Brandel Chamblee, my favorite ghost author and now a star commentator and renaissance man for Golf Channel who also excels at fetching coffee, so I've heard.
Brandel Chamblee: Are you relishing this Gary, being a cheese head?
Van Sickle: I don't believe cheese and relish go together. That's just my opinion.
Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: Great finishing kick by Stricker, though I was sorry not to get a three-way playoff with Dufner and Verplank. That's the big three of charisma. No, I still don't care about the FedEx Cup, but it might determine player of the year. If Strick has two more good weeks and takes the Cup, he'll have a strong case.
Van Sickle: It would be weird to see Steve Stricker win an award that ISN'T Comeback Player of the Year, wouldn't it?
Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine: Harrington said essentially the same thing, that the POY race is wide open and depends on what happens in the FedEx Cup. But there was a caveat: One of the major winners had to have a huge FedEx Cup to steal it from Tiger. I second that assessment. Stricker didn't win a major. So far the most likely player on that front is Cabrera.
Dick Friedman, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: Maybe Tiger's being out of the running on Sunday helped out; people were aware that the FedEx Cup was up for grabs and seemed to like it. I overheard more than one spectator comment that this was providing "a real finish" to the golf season. Take that, Glory's Last Shot! So maybe this FedEx thing is starting to take root.
Jim Herre, editor, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus: Two tight finishes — what's not to like?
David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com: I don't care about the playoffs, and I don't think the fans do either, but I do like the fact that the PGA Championship is well in the rearview mirror and we're still getting meaningful golf played by big-name players.
Van Sickle: Mr. Dusek makes a salient point. Whether it works or not as a race, the FedEx Cup has forced Phil and Tiger and others into playing events at a time of the year when they're normally done.
Farrell Evans, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: The golf was good, but the Fedex Cup is still just easy money for the best players. It's kinda like giving Don King a chance to promote Tiger Woods four times a year. Does Stricker winning mean now that he is the favorite going into Augusta? Probably not.
Chamblee: I don't care what you call the end of the season, playoffs or money grab, it is still bringing out the best golfers in the world and giving us compelling story lines.
Morfit: I had more than one player tell me this week that they had no earthly idea how the points thing works. Mickelson, a rocket-scientist in his spare time, said all he understood was that you move up if you play better. But here's the amazing thing: If the original goal was to get Tiger and Phil and the other stars to play more tournaments leading up to the Tour Championship, including the Tour Championship, then this thing is a resounding success.
Damon Hack, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: One other good thing about this weekend: We just learned who the best player without a major is — Mr. Stricker.
Van Sickle: Johnny Miller deftly handled the Stricker issue at 17 when he asked whether Stricker is a closer or a contender. In majors, Stricker has been a contender, not a closer. This time, Stricker answered Johnny by pouring in that crucial birdie putt. Great TV.
Dusek: I've moved past the comeback. Stricker has won a few times now since his resurrection and has positioned himself solidly in the top 10. Enough with the comeback. He's here and deserves to be thought of along with the game's other elite players with a last name other than "Woods."
Shipnuck: Stricker is the best player without a major this year, but I still think Sergio's body of work is stronger as Best Player Never to Have Won a Major. Stricker has rarely been a serious factor in the majors. I don't think Sergio is off the hook yet.
Van Sickle: Based on how they're playing, and how they've played this year, several players rank ahead of Sergio on the no-major list. That would include Stricker, Kenny Perry, maybe even Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson. For a body of work compared to talent, however, Sergio is still No. 1.
Hack: Stricker's been hot for a few years now. He was in the final group at Carnoustie and has actually been in the heat in majors quite a bit the last couple of years, especially at the U.S. Open.
Van Sickle: Right — Carnoustie, Oakmont, Sahalee, Olympic Club. I think I'm still forgetting at least one. But he has never been able to make a move on the final nine. At least, not like he has in FedEx Cup events.
Hack: Sergio has taken himself off the hook with his play.
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