The PGA Tour is eliminating the controversial starting-strokes format from the Tour Championship in its newest try to make its season-ending match extra compelling and climactic for golf followers, the tour introduced Tuesday.
Beginning with this yr’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Membership in Atlanta from Aug. 21-24, all 30 gamers within the area will begin at even par in a stroke-play match.
The winner after 72 holes will seize the FedEx Cup and gather a bonus and five-year PGA Tour exemption.
The PGA Tour’s Participant Advisory Council (PAC) and coverage board accepted the modifications Tuesday.
“Our Fan Ahead Initiative has helped us consider every a part of the PGA Tour season and at present’s announcement is a vital first step within the evolution of our postseason,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan stated in an announcement. “The Participant Advisory Council led an intensive course of to reply to what our followers are asking for: Probably the most aggressive golf on the earth, performed for the very best stakes, in probably the most easy and fascinating format.”
The PGA Tour thought of different methods to play the Tour Championship, together with a bracket-style format with head-to-head play. The tour stated the PAC would proceed to look at the sphere measurement and qualification requirements for future Tour Championships.
In a information launch Tuesday, the tour stated golf followers indicated they wished to see profitable scores nearer to par on the Tour Championship.
The tour stated bonuses for the highest 30 golfers within the FedEx Cup standings “will likely be balanced for 2025 to account for the elevated volatility, reward season-long efficiency and acknowledge the importance of the FedExCup.”
“Because the PGA Tour continues to evolve and reply to suggestions from followers and gamers, extra enhancements to the Tour Championship are being evaluated and will likely be introduced within the coming months,” the information launch stated.
The tour can also be weighing whether or not to relocate the Tour Championship to a different golf membership after the 2027 season, sources instructed ESPN, though East Lake Golf Membership might stay a part of a rotation for the occasion.
Final yr, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler began the match at 10 underneath because the FedEx Cup season-long factors chief. He was 20 underneath over 72 holes on his personal, and his general scoring complete of 30 underneath was 4 strokes higher than Collin Morikawa, who began at 4 underneath.
The PGA Tour stated its guidelines committee will “alter its course setup method to encourage extra danger/reward moments all through every spherical, additional heightening the drama and competitors.”
“We would like the Tour Championship to be the toughest match to qualify for and the FedEx Cup trophy probably the most troublesome to win,” Scheffler stated in an announcement. “Shifting the Tour Championship to a extra straight-up format with a more durable course setup makes it simpler for followers to observe and supplies a tougher check for players-which brings out the very best competitors.”
From 2007 to 2018, the PGA Tour topped two champions on the Tour Championship: the winner of the match and the chief within the season-long FedEx Cup factors race. Beginning strokes had been launched in 2019 to guard golfers on the prime, whereas eliminating the confusion of getting two champions after the season-ending championship.
The factors chief began at 10 underneath and was not less than 2 strokes forward of everybody else within the area. The No. 2 participant in factors began at 8-under, No. 3 at 7-under, No. 4 at 6-under, and so forth.
PGA Tour members, together with Scheffler, criticized the format as being too gimmicky. Different golfers complained that they did not have an opportunity to win the match as a result of they had been beginning up to now behind.
“I talked about it the previous couple of years, I believe it is foolish,” Scheffler stated throughout a information convention on the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship. “You may’t name it a season-long race and have it come down to 1 match.
“Hypothetically, we get to East Lake and my neck flares up and it would not heal the best way it did on the Gamers. I end thirtieth within the FedEx Cup as a result of I needed to withdraw from the final match? Is that basically the season-long race? No, it’s what it’s.”
Beginning up to now in entrance of the sphere did not all the time assure Scheffler a victory. In 2022, he squandered a 6-stroke lead by carding a 3-over 73 within the remaining spherical and misplaced to Rory McIlroy by 1. The following yr, Scheffler began at 10 underneath and went simply 1 underneath over 72 holes on his personal. He tied for sixth at 11 underneath, 16 strokes behind winner Viktor Hovland.
