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With the PGA Tour struggling to maintain fan interest and television ratings beyond the month of August, Commissioner Tim Finchem is set to announce a revamped PGA Tour schedule beginning in 2007. The new schedule will include a NASCAR-like points chase and a new late-summer, "high-stakes," tournament format.

For golf, after the PGA Championship in August, fan interest begins to decline. With the opening of the college and professional football seasons in late August and early September, the PGA has difficulty drawing fans to its final tournaments of the season. By the time the baseball playoffs begin in October, golf is relegated to third or fourth tier status for most sports fans.

But in an effort to regain interest at the same time that the Tour seeks to renew its television deal, Finchem appears destined to tinker with the current format. Critical to making the concept work will be the ability to draw the game's best players to the links in the new late season format.

Commissioner Finchem appears ready to unveil some details this coming Wednesday as the Tour's top players gather for the Tour Championship in Atlanta Among the changes set to be unveiled are a points chase that culminates in a playoff system. During the season, players will accumulate points that will qualify them for a series of four tournaments in August and September that will carry significantly higher purses. As part of that new concept, the Tour Championship will again act as the final top event but it will move from November to September.

Early indications are that the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, the Barclays Classic near New York and the Cialis Western Open just outside Chicago will become the three events that will lead up to the Tour Championship. Though six to seven tournaments will follow the Tour Championship, those events won't be part of the NASCAR-like points chase. Those tournaments will still count toward the official money rankings and allow players to earn spots in majors and other top events.

The new format will definitively appeal to the players who believe the current season is just too long. For Woods, Mickelson and others, the length of the current season has been a constant source of criticism. Those golfers point out that the PGA season is longer that any other in professional sports, beginning the first week in January and going through the first week in November.

But for others the changes are not seen as entirely positive. Tour regular Robert Gamez has already spoken out against the changes, worried that the new format might take away the opportunities for the second tier players to make a living on the Tour.

In addition, many tournament directors are concerned as well. Gerald Goodman, who runs this week's Chrysler Championship, relayed his concerns as this week's event is one of the late-season tournaments that could be affected by the new format.

However, those criticisms will likely be set aside as the Tour seeks to build upon its biggest source of revenue, a new television contract. While the new schedule will appeal to certain sectors of the Tour's players, the real key is to create a format that will allow golf to stay on the radar screen just as the football season gets underway and the baseball season moves towards the playoffs and World Series.