The tour announced that the PGA Tour will eliminate the controversial starting strike format in the Tour Championship to make its season-end game more appealing and climax for golf fans.
All 30 players in the field will be evenly matched in the stroke game starting from the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta from August 21 to 24.
After 72 holes, the winner will capture the FedEx Cup and receive a bonus and a five-year PGA Tour waiver.
The PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Committee (PAC) and Policy Committee approved the change on Tuesday.
“Our Fan Forward Initiative helped us evaluate every part of the PGA Tour, and today’s announcement is an important first step in the evolution of the playoffs,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “The Player Advisory Committee leads a thorough process to respond to the demands of our fans: the world’s most competitive golf, playing on the highest bets in the most direct and engaging form.”
The PGA Tour considers other ways to compete in the Tour Championship, including a format with a stand-style playback. The Tour said PAC will continue to study the site size and qualification standards for future Tour Championships.
The Tour said in a press release Tuesday that golf fans said they hope to see a winning score on the Tour.
The tour said that in the FedEx Cup ranking, the top 30 golfers’ bonuses “will remain balanced in 2025 to illustrate the increased volatility, reward season performance and recognize the importance of FedExcup.”
“As the PGA Tour continues to develop and respond to feedback from fans and players, further improvements to the Tour Championship are being evaluated and will be announced in the coming months,” the press release said.
Sources told ESPN that the tour also allowed the tour to move the tour champion to another golf club.
Last year, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler started the race with less than 10 matches, becoming the season-long leader in the FedEx Cup. He has more than 72 holes in his own 72 holes and his total score is better than Collin Morikawa, 4 years old.
The PGA Tour said its Rules Committee will “adjust its curriculum approach to encourage more risk/reward moments throughout the round, further enhancing drama and competition.”
“We want the Tour champion to be the hardest game to win, and the FedEx Cup champion to win the hardest,” PAC member Scheffler said in a statement. “Turning the Tour champion into a more direct format and making it easier for fans to follow and provide players with more challenging tests,” PAC member Scheffler said in a statement. “Turning the Tour champion into a more direct format and making it easier for fans to follow and provide players with more challenging tests.”
From 2007 to 2018, the PGA Tour crowned two championships in the Tour Championship: the championship and the leader of the season-long FedEx Cup points tournament. Starting stroke was introduced in 2019 to protect golfers’ highest levels while eliminating the confusion of having two titles after the end of the season.
Scoring leaders start at under 10 and are at least two steps ahead of everyone else in the field. The second-ranked player in the score is under 8 years old, 7th place under 3, 4th place, 6th place, etc.
PGA Tour members, including Scheffler, criticized the format for being too fancy. Other golfers complained that they had no chance to win the game because they were from behind.
“I talked about this over the last few years and I think it’s stupid,” Schefler said at a press conference for the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship. “You can’t call it a season’s game and it boils down to a game.
“Suppose we get to East Lake and my neck is dazzling and it can’t heal like a player. I finished 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to quit the last game? Is that really the game of the season? No, that’s it.”
So far, starting before the field does not always guarantee a victory for Schaeffler. In 2022, he wasted a six-stroke lead by defeating 3-win 73 in the final round and losing to Rory McIlroy by one. The following year, Scheftler started under the age of 10, with only one hole with only one hole. He tied for sixth place with under 11, down 16 champion Viktor Hovland.
