The PGA Tour is considering a major change for the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake, after question marks hade been raised over the staggered strokes format
The PGA Tour is contemplating a major shake-up to its season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake, with plans to introduce a bracket-style tournament.
Since 2019, the PGA Tour has adopted a staggered scoring system based on FedEx Cup standings to its final tournament of the campaign, where the FedEx Cup’s leading player is given a two-shot lead on second and so on, however change appears to be on the horizon. Per The Athletic, Tour chiefs are in discussions about switching to a bracketed format.
The report claims that either strokeplay or matchplay could be used, where players’ positions in the FedEx Cup would determine their byes in the initial rounds.
This proposed change comes amid divided opinions from fans and golfers over the current format. Just last year, FedEx Cup winner Scottie Scheffler called the existing Tour Championship format “silly”, expressing frustration that his lead in the standings translated to only a two-shot advantage at the season’s final event.
“I talked about it the last few years,” Scheffler said last August. “I think it’s silly. You can’t call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament. Hypothetically, we get to East Lake and my neck flares up and it doesn’t heal the way it did at the Players.
I finished 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament. Is that really the season-long race? No. It is what it is.”
Scottie Scheffler won the FedEx Cup ( Image: Getty Images)
Not everyone is in agreement though, with three-time FedEx Cup winner Rory McIlroy of a different opinion. The Northern Irishman, who edged out Scheffler for the title in 2022, believes that while the current format may not be the fairest way to determine the year’s top player, it does provide maximum entertainment.”
“I love this format because if it wasn’t this format, then none of us would have a chance against Scottie because he’s so far ahead,” McIlroy said last year. “So I really like this format… I think it makes the Tour Championship more exciting from a consumer standpoint.
“One man who is of the opposing opinion though is Scheffler’s rival, and three-time FedEx Cup champion, McIlroy. The Northern Irishman, who pipped Scheffler to the title in 2022, believes that whilst the current format is not the fairest way to decide the year’s best player, it is the best way to provide maximum entertainment.
“Is it the fairest reflection of who’s been the best player of the year? Probably not. But I think at this point we’re not in for totally fair; we’re in for entertainment and for trying to put on the best product we possibly can.”
