Though characteristically vague when talking about ongoing negotiations with Westchester, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem did catch my eye with one telling remark – that the tour might only be looking to “accelerate the rotation” of the Barclays around the New York area.

Why is this important? Because it offers another possibility beyond staying at Westchester in 2008, or leaving for good.

Bear in mind that the tour’s contract with the club said that the Barclays would be played three times at Westchester between 2007 and 2012. The first of those tournaments took place last summer. The second was supposed to be this summer, and then the tournament was definitely headed to Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J. in 2009.

By accelerating the rotation, the tour might only want to move elsewhere now—i.e. Ridgewood CC in 2008 and Liberty in 2009—but come back to honor its contract with Westchester between 2010 and 2012.

A handful of conversations yesterday led me to believe this is indeed a point of discussion between the two sides.

Now, why would either side want to do this? Good question.

One, for PR purposes. Should the tour break its contract outright with Westchester, it loses some important credibility points not only with the public, but also with other venues when it sits down to negotiate with them (i.e. “You didn’t honor your contract with Westchester. Why would you honor it with us?”).

And for Westchester, the club can still beat its chest as a worthy PGA Tour venue, but without having to immediately deal with the imposition of hosting another event this summer.

Of course, there’s also the money element. If you read my post below, you know that Westchester may feel its entitled to more of a settlement than the $1 million offered by the tour. And if the tour wasn’t willing to ante up more money just to walk away, then the only other option was to find another palatable option to honor the $3.6 million contract.

It’s not perfect. But it’s an option.

Stay tuned….