His beef was that it killed all of the tension that should have been there in the playoff. It makes a big difference when there are thousands of dollars on the line for a single shot.
This article is from 1962, and about golf and purse splitting for playoffs, and a lot of people were sanctioned in the 1980s (IIRC) about it and so it doesn't happen anymore (plus purses are huge now, so even second is a lot of $$$), but it's somewhat relevant:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1135005/1/index.htm
Edit: The purse splitting that was sanctioned was when a bunch of Champions Tour golfers would agree before the tournament even started to split the purse up. It was during the early days of the Champions Tour. Deane Beman was commissioner at the time and was enraged, and punished several players, and so on, and the practice was abolished with stiff penalties if you're caught doing it again. It made a sham of the entire competitive nature and turned it into more of an exhibition, and he hated that.
Again, all IIRC.
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