PGA Tour axes Tour Championship staggered start

The PGA Tour is eliminating the arguable starting-strokes format from the Tour Championship successful its latest effort to marque its season-ending tourney much compelling and climatic for play fans, the circuit announced Tuesday.

Starting with this year's Tour Championship astatine East Lake Golf Club successful Atlanta from Aug. 21-24, each 30 players successful the tract volition commencement astatine adjacent par successful a stroke-play tournament.

The victor aft 72 holes volition seizure the FedEx Cup and cod a bonus and five-year PGA Tour exemption.

The PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council (PAC) and argumentation committee approved the changes Tuesday.

"Our Fan Forward Initiative has helped america measure each portion of the PGA Tour play and today's announcement is an important archetypal measurement successful the improvement of our postseason," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said successful a statement. "The Player Advisory Council led a thorough process to respond to what our fans are asking for: The astir competitory play successful the world, played for the highest stakes, successful the astir straightforward and engaging format."

The PGA Tour considered different ways to play the Tour Championship, including a bracket-style format with head-to-head play. The circuit said the PAC would proceed to analyse the tract size and qualification standards for aboriginal Tour Championships.

In a quality merchandise Tuesday, the circuit said play fans indicated they wanted to spot winning scores person to par astatine the Tour Championship.

The circuit said bonuses for the apical 30 golfers successful the FedEx Cup standings "will beryllium balanced for 2025 to relationship for the accrued volatility, reward season-long show and admit the value of the FedExCup."

"As the PGA Tour continues to germinate and respond to feedback from fans and players, further enhancements to the Tour Championship are being evaluated and volition beryllium announced successful the coming months," the quality merchandise said.

The circuit is besides weighing whether to relocate the Tour Championship to different play nine aft the 2027 season, sources told ESPN, though East Lake Golf Club could stay portion of a rotation for the event.

Last year, satellite No. 1 Scottie Scheffler started the tourney astatine 10 nether arsenic the FedEx Cup season-long points leader. He was 20 nether implicit 72 holes connected his own, and his wide scoring full of 30 nether was 4 strokes amended than Collin Morikawa, who started astatine 4 under.

The PGA Tour said its rules committee volition "adjust its people setup attack to promote much risk/reward moments passim each round, further heightening the play and competition."

"We privation the Tour Championship to beryllium the hardest tourney to suffice for and the FedEx Cup trophy the astir hard to win," Scheffler said successful a statement. "Shifting the Tour Championship to a much straight-up format with a tougher people setup makes it easier for fans to travel and provides a much challenging trial for players-which brings retired the champion competition."

From 2007 to 2018, the PGA Tour crowned 2 champions astatine the Tour Championship: the victor of the tourney and the person successful the season-long FedEx Cup points race. Starting strokes were introduced successful 2019 to support golfers astatine the top, portion eliminating the disorder of having 2 champions aft the season-ending championship.

The points person started astatine 10 nether and was astatine slightest 2 strokes up of everyone other successful the field. The No. 2 subordinate successful points started astatine 8-under, No. 3 astatine 7-under, No. 4 astatine 6-under, and truthful on.

PGA Tour members, including Scheffler, criticized the format arsenic being excessively gimmicky. Other golfers complained that they didn't person a accidental to triumph the tourney due to the fact that they were starting truthful acold behind.

"I talked astir it the past fewer years, I deliberation it's silly," Scheffler said during a quality league astatine the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship. "You can't telephone it a season-long contention and person it travel down to 1 tournament.

"Hypothetically, we get to East Lake and my cervix flares up and it doesn't heal the mode it did astatine the Players. I decorativeness 30th successful the FedEx Cup due to the fact that I had to retreat from the past tournament? Is that truly the season-long race? No, it is what it is."

Starting truthful acold successful beforehand of the tract didn't ever warrant Scheffler a victory. In 2022, helium squandered a 6-stroke pb by carding a 3-over 73 successful the last circular and mislaid to Rory McIlroy by 1. The adjacent year, Scheffler started astatine 10 nether and went conscionable 1 nether implicit 72 holes connected his own. He tied for sixth astatine 11 under, 16 strokes down victor Viktor Hovland.