By Bob Harig
ESPN.com
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It is clear that Jim Furyk had no intention of blowing off his pro-am tee time last week at the Barclays, and his late arrival to the pretournament event cost him dearly.

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Sam Greenwood/Getty ImagesJim Furyk starts the Deutsche Bank Championship this week eighth in the FedEx Cup standings after missing this past week's Barclays tournament for inadvertently skipping his pro-am tee time.

Furyk was denied a spot in the tournament field because he missed his pro-am tee time by a few minutes, a harsh penalty that has been suspended this week by the PGA Tour.

Phil Mickelson was among those to criticize commissioner Tim Finchem for allowing it to get to that point, and Finchem this week quickly responded with a suspension of the policy and the mandate to figure out some other punishment.

But what?

Although making a player ineligible for the tournament when he missed his pro-am time might be harsh, the penalty for skipping out on the day-before festivities needs to be harsh.

To the tournament, there might not be a bigger day than the pro-am.

"As it relates to any tournament, we're all pretty much in the same boat: It is the most important revenue source we have," said Clair Peterson, tournament director for the John Deere Classic.

"It probably accounts for at least 40 percent of our bottom-line revenue. We sell it as a unique experience in sports. Where else do you get to spend time on the field inside the ropes with the greatest athletes in their sport face-to-face? As a teammate? Can you imagine scrimmaging with Tom Brady? There's no way in any other sport to duplicate what you are doing here. It's a big, big deal."

And that is why a big, big penalty needs to go with skipping the pro-am.

Nearly all the tournaments on the PGA Tour are run as non-profit entities. But they see very little if any money from the title sponsor. Nearly all of it goes to the purse, television commitments and the PGA Tour.

That leaves the local tournaments to raise money on their own to run the event: pay staff, rent the course, set it up, feed the players, pay security. There are numerous aspects that go into running a tournament.

Ticket sales can be a big source of revenue, as well as numerous sponsorships and corporate hospitality packages.

But the pro-am is king. Amateurs pay anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000 for the privilege. It doesn't take a math whiz to figure out that 200 pro-am spots at $5,000 apiece brings in $1 million.

And what gets those folks to pay that kind of cash for one round of golf, a few goodies and a pro-am pairings party is the notion that they might get to play with Mickelson or Furyk or Ernie Els or Tiger Woods.

That is why the top players, those who finished among the top 30 money winners the year before, are required to play in each week's pro-am. And from the player perspective, these outings can grow tiresome.

"It used to be before this rule, we'd have a lot of withdrawals from the Wednesday pro-am," said Kym Hougham, tournament director for the Wells Fargo (formerly Quail Hollow) Championship. "And there were always a lot of good reasons. But it always happened after the [pro-am] draw on Tuesday.

"You go to bed thinking you are playing with one guy and learn they might not be playing with somebody ranked as high. It's not a great experience. I know [the penalty] is harsh. But the tour studied this long and hard, and they were the ones who [came] up with the rules. And it has cut down on the number of withdrawals. It [was] a tough rough. But it was there to protect the people putting up the money."

That is why the penalty needs to have some bite. A hefty fine with the proceeds going to the tournament's charity in addition to some other sponsor obligations might be a start.

Or perhaps the players would consider taking $1 million off the purse and forgo a pro-am altogether? That way the tournament gets its revenue, and the players avoid the pro-am hassle.

Don't count on that idea going very far.

Just like his European counterpart Colin Montgomerie, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin has some difficult decisions to make before announcing his four wild-card selections on Tuesday to fill out the 12-man American team.

The difference is that it would be hard to argue that anyone Pavin does not pick could feel slighted. Nobody absolutely deserves to be chosen.

All of which seemingly makes Tiger Woods a foregone conclusion. For all the debate about whether Woods should play, if he wants to do it, he should be in Wales. There are not four choices better.

Zach Johnson, who won earlier this year, missed a playoff by a shot at the PGA Championship and is considered a solid putter, appears to be a likely selection. And it is difficult to go wrong with the experience of Stewart Cink, although like Lucas Glover, he has not won since capturing a major championship in 2009.

Anthony Kim would be a lock were it not for his apparent slow recovery from thumb surgery. He has struggled since his return at the Bridgestone. If he can show any form at all this week, he will give Pavin something to consider. Who else? Sean O'Hair? Rickie Fowler? Does Pavin pick youth over experience?

He has lots of choices, but none screams at you to be obvious.

For Justin Rose to learn of his Ryder Cup fate just before teeing off at the final round of the Barclays and Paul Casey to figure out during the round of play borders on cruel.

Argue all you want about the merits of each player and whether he should have received a wild-card pick from European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie. That's fair game, and both players have compelling reasons to be on the team.

But the way it went down was just poor -- and it's no fault of Monty, who was in a horrible position of having to fill out his roster to coincide with a scheduled television slot just after the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship in Scotland.

Because of the five-hour time difference, Rose was still warming up on the driving range in New Jersey when Monty reached him by cell phone. Casey's phone was off, but he was paired with Padraig Harrington -- who did receive a pick -- and knew he was doomed when the Irishman's wife passed along the good news to her husband during the round but didn't give a similar thumbs-up to Casey.

Is that any way for this business to be conducted?

Why not wait until Monday to announce the picks? There was no surprise that the Barclays, a PGA Tour FedEx Cup event, would be played on the same day as the final European qualifying event. And it was painfully obvious that several players in the field might be in line for a pick.

Perhaps the European Tour will change its cutoff date for selection to the team or the announcement of the wild-card picks -- or maybe even overhaul a system that somehow has left the No. 9 and No. 22 players in the world sitting at home.

TPC Boston. The home of the Deutsche Bank Championship is a private club that was designed by Arnold Palmer's company in 2001 and revised in 2006.

The tournament is in its eighth year at the TPC Boston and its fourth year as part of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Not terribly difficult (it ranked 37th out of 51 courses last year), the 7,304-yard par-71 layout has yielded plenty of good scores and excitement. And a slew of big-name winners, such as Steve Stricker, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.