FedEx Delivers

Maybe the FedEx Cup playoffs are getting the last laugh.

Since their inception in 2007, the PGA Tour’s playoffs have been gently chided for manufacturing meaning at the end of a season that will begin again, in this year’s case, three days later, all while smothering the tournaments and the players in piles of money.

That part is true.

What’s also true is the FedEx Cup playoffs work.

They’ve made the PGA Tour better, provided a proper finish to a season that no longer fits inside the traditional calendar year. They’ve also become meaningful beyond the money, which remains impressively immense.

The playoffs have been around long enough now that they have history and being a FedEx Cup champion matters. It may not be the same as winning the green jacket at Augusta National or cradling the U.S. Open trophy, but $15 million (which the winner gets this year) goes a long way toward buying relevance.

Beyond the money, it’s an achievement that endures. Ask Bill Haas or Billy Horschel or Rory McIlroy. You can ask McIlroy twice...