DUBLIN, Ohio – The PGA Tour is reverting to a traditional stroke-play format for the Tour Championship, with players who qualify for the season finale starting the tournament at even par instead of the starting-strokes model that had been used since 2019.
The Tour policy board approved the change Tuesday afternoon at Muirfield Village as part of a larger overhaul of the Tour Championship, which will include a greater focus on course setup at East Lake and an examination of the event’s field size.
The move will take effect this August.
“Our Fan Forward initiative has helped us evaluate each part of the PGA Tour season and today’s announcement is an important first step in the evolution of our postseason,” Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “The Player Advisory Council led a thorough process to respond to what our fans are asking for: The most competitive golf in the world, played for the highest stakes, in the most straightforward and engaging format.”
The field size for the FedExCup finale will remain 30 players, but according to a memo sent to players the PAC will continue “studying field size and the qualification system of future years to raise the stakes on the entire FedExCup season.”
The starting-strokes format – which gave a built-in advantage to players based on their position on the playoff points list, with the top-ranked player, for example, starting the Tour Championship at 10 under followed by the second-ranked player at 8 under and so on – had been criticized for being confusing to fans and unpopular among some players, including last year’s FedExCup champion Scottie Scheffler, who called the format “silly.”
“We want the Tour Championship to be the hardest tournament to qualify for and the FedExCup trophy the most difficult to win,” said Scheffler, a member of the 16-player Player Advisory Council. “Shifting the Tour Championship to a more straight-up format with a tougher course setup makes it easier for fans to follow and provides a more challenging test for players – which brings out the best competition.”
The Tour said its bonus structure for the top 30 players will be balanced “to account for the increased volatility, reward season-long performance and recognize the significance of the FedExCup.”
