The PGA Tour is proposing making a key change to its season finale at the Tour Championship, by bringing in a bracket-style tournament to the event at East Lake.
Following changes in 2019, the PGA Tour has operated a staggered scoring format at the Tour Championship in relation to the FedEx Cup standings. This sees the No. 1 player heading into the final tournament of the campaign starting at 10-under-par, second at eight-under, third at seven-under and so on.
This could well be scrapped as early as this season though, with PGA Tour bosses in talks to make a move towards a bracketed tournament according to The Athletic.
Per the report, the Tour is said to be contemplating both a strokeplay or matchplay format, with players receiving byes through the opening rounds in accordance to their FedEx Cup position. The current staggered system has no doubt split opinion among fans and players alike.
Just last year, FedEx Cup champion Scottie Scheffler described the current Tour Championship as “silly”, after his dominant run in the standings throughout the year was only recognized by a two-shot lead in the final event of the season. “I talked about it the last few years,” he 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.”
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.
“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.
“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.”
Leave a Reply