By Bob Harig
ESPN.com
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LEMONT, Ill. -- This is a tough week for players on the PGA Tour and the tournament they are playing.

Tough for the players because this is the third consecutive week of high-intensity golf and the fifth out of six going back to the Bridgestone Invitational.

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Hunter Martin/Getty ImagesThe last time Tiger Woods held a trophy after a PGA Tour victory came a year ago at this week's event, the BMW Championship at Cog Hill.

And tough for the BMW Championship because it begins Thursday just three days after the Deutsche Bank Championship ended near Boston.

Say what you want about the lack of physical exertion in golf, but the game at the highest level can take its toll when played this often and factoring in the travel.

And when you are a sponsor that pays some $10 million to put on the event, having a shortened week due to the Monday finish at TPC Boston makes for a tough situation.

So why not take this week off and give everybody a break?

The idea was broached last year and seemed to have a good bit of support.

"Every year we evaluate it after we get done, and we take input," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said at Cog Hill a year ago. "We've had the suggestion from a number of quarters over the last two or three years, instead of going three off and one, going two and two. We can continue to take another look at that."

And nothing happened.

One of the reasons is the proximity of the Ryder Cup to the Tour Championship this year. Those competing in both will go straight from Atlanta to Wales. So moving the off week this year would have created just as many problems as it solved.

But what about next year? There is no Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup is not until November.

You could easily play the Barclays and Deutsche Bank, take a week off and then play the BMW and Tour Championship.

"Pretty sensible idea to me," said Matt Kuchar, who won the Barclays two weeks ago and leads the FedEx Cup standings. "It seems like this is a pretty fast week."

Kuchar bemoaned very windy conditions on Tuesday that made practice difficult.

"And then [Wednesday] is the pro-am day, so it's a very short week, and with these circumstances particularly hard on the guys that aren't regulars to Cog Hill."

For what it's worth, the BMW tournament folks would have few issues with the off week coming back before their event, as long as the logistics could be worked out.

John Kaczkowski, executive director of the Western Golf Association, said going up against a Chicago Bears home opener this week is not ideal, nor is it great that the tournament loses a day because of the Monday finish in Boston.

"I think if they do change it and make it the off week, it's a pretty sensible idea," Kuchar said. "It makes for a good position to have a break and then extra help because of the Monday finish and the short prep time."

Aside from Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh, who captured the first three FedEx Cup titles, has anyone liked this addition to the PGA Tour schedule more than Steve Stricker?

While he has not won the overall crown, Stricker is the only player to compete in all 14 of the FedEx Cup events dating to 2007, with this week's BMW Championship his 15th. He has two victories and nine top-10s, including a ninth last week at the Deutsche Bank.

Stricker has earned more than $5.2 million in FedEx bonus money alone the past three years, and is in line for another big payday as he is third in the standings heading into the BMW. If he can remain in the top five, he controls his own destiny at the Tour Championship, where a win would guarantee him the $10 million bonus.

"My game has kind of turned the same time as the FedEx system came around," said Stricker, who has nine PGA Tour victories, but six in the past three seasons. "It's been good. Obviously to play well during these times, fortunate enough to win the very first one, and it's been a good run through the whole playoff system.

"It's been good every year since it started, and I think that's the key. I've been very consistent every year, and it leads right up into the fall."

For the third time this year, Phil Mickelson was not in the pre-tournament pro-am, this time at the BMW Championship. This followed absences at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Under new pro-am rules instituted this year, players who were in the top 30 on the PGA Tour money list or FedEx Cup points list the prior year -- meaning they are required to participate in the pro-am -- have the ability to elect out of the pro-am up to two times per year.

Mickelson did that at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and last week at the Deutsche Bank and in each case was required to perform some sponsor-related duty.

So how did he avoid the pro-am here at Cog Hill? Mickelson was "shifted" out at the request of the BMW Championship, which had to be approved by the PGA Tour. Apparently BMW preferred to have Mickelson do some sponsor function during the tournament.

What will never be known is if BMW did this to save Mickelson's spot in the field. There had been rumblings for weeks that Mickelson might skip the tournament altogether. Three years ago, after winning the Deutsche Bank, Mickelson withdrew from the BMW after some highly critical remarks about commissioner Tim Finchem.

Mickelson had argued that players should not be required to play the BMW pro-am just two days after the conclusion of the Deutsche Bank. He made his point even clearer by taking part in a Chicago corporate outing while skipping the tournament.

The other unknown in all of this: the health of Mickelson's wife, Amy, who last year was diagnosed with breast cancer. Mickelson understandably has made an effort to spend more time at home. Plus, he's had his own health issues to deal with this summer after being diagnosed with a form of arthritis.

... Cog Hill. The home to the BMW Championship is a shrine to public golf, with four courses, numbered 1 through 4. The No. 4 course, also nicknamed Dubsdread, has been the site of what used to be called the Western Open since 1990, except for 2008 when the BMW shifted to St. Louis.

Cog Hill No. 4 has been refurbished by Rees Jones and greens fees are $155. Although the facility dates to 1927, the fourth course was not added until 1964.

The tournament has a long history, dating to 1899 when the first Western Open was played at the Glen View Club in Golf, Ill. For years, the tournament was regarded as a major championship and moved around Midwestern and Eastern venues before settling in the Chicago area in the 1960s.

In 1974, it found a home at Butler National Golf Club, where the tournament remained through 1989 before moving to Cog Hill. In 2007, the event became part of the FedEx Cup playoffs and was renamed the BMW Championship. After another year at Cog Hill in 2011, it will move to Crooked Stick in Indianapolis in 2012 for one year.

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