Ready for a Letdown?

The PGA Tour Fall Series Not for the FedEx Cup or Anything But Tournament Purse Money Beings This Week in New York. (Ok, I'll stop.) The Turning Stone Resort Championship kicks off the final seven official money events of the 2007 PGA Tour season. It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that nobody who played in the 30 player, $7 million Tour Championship last weekend would venture to NY for a full-field event with a smaller purse and no guaranteed payday.

So, who bothered to enter the event? Here are the top players in the field on the basis of their finish in the PGA Tour playoffs and their money list ranking in parenthesis:

32. Jerry Kelly (32)
36. Stu Appleby (37)
39. Henrik Stenson (30)
50. Charley Hoffman (55)
52. Ryan Moore (52)
58. Sean O'Hair (54)
61. John Mallinger (62)

Other notables include John Daly (173) and Nick Flanagan.

While the field is, well, really weak, there are still some interesting things to point out here. First, the PGA Tour's points list and the money list rank players awfully similarly - even with the supposed reset. Second, a month after one of the best stories of the season happened, Nick Flanagan will finally get a shot to play in a PGA Tour event with his 2008 card settled. Finally, although 144 players made the PGA Tour playoffs, there will still be a race to make the top 125 for a full exemption next year on Tour. We'll see how the PGA Tour and the Golf Channel market that to the fans.