2006 THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW EXTRAVAGANZA!

It's here, the PGA Tour's final tournament of 2006 (sort of), THE TOUR Championship! What the hell is THE TOUR Championship, you ask? And why the weird capitalization? I don't know. Apparently, it's a four-round, cut-free golf tournament that invites the top 30 money winners, and all 30 will be richer by the end of the weekend. I'm not sure what its purpose is.

So why should we watch it? Because the top 30 golfers are there, that's why! Oh, except the #1 golfer, Tiger, who's cruising around in his yacht with his Swedish thing. And Phil (#4) won't be there either; he's at home watching the replay of the 2006 U.S. Open while crying into a pint of Chubby Hubby. Oh, and none of the Europeans who played well at the Ryder Cup will be there, like Montgomerie, Garcia, Clarke, or Harrington (in fact, Luke Donald is the only one). And the one Canadian, Stephen Ames, withdrew. So it's the TOP 27 in the world in a showdown to . . . eh whatever. If Tiger and Phil don't care, why should we?

I'm a golf fan, and I'm not even sure I'm going to tune in. And with football, hockey, and basketball all in full swing, it's a tough sell for the rest of the world too. Regardless, this is the last year that this tournament will be held in November, as in 2007 it will be moved up to September to be an integral part of "The Chase for the FedEx Cup". I don't know how I feel about this idea yet, but I hate the name which makes it sound like some lousy NASCAR type point race. I can't even find an article discussing the pros and cons, the only ones I can find are gushing praise written by the PGA itself (This just in: FedEx Cup is AWESOME!). You would think that the PGA Tour is doing this because it's suffering and needs more exposure, but that's hardly the case. Maybe the purses have become so bloated that they have to support it somehow, but I don't know if inventing an imaginary "cup" and giving the winner $10 million is the way to go. But I might be wrong.

Anyway, if you have the means, you can watch the rich get richer at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia this weekend. Or just hop on your luxury yacht. Either way, enjoy!