PGA Tour contemplating changes to Tour Championship, AP sources say
KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — The PGA Tour is contemplating another change to the format at the Tour Championship to crown a FedEx Cup champion as part of its response to what fans, television and corporate partners want to see.
Two PGA Tour officials said several concepts are still under discussion as officials review what effect it would have on everything from corporate hospitality at East Lake in Atlanta to determining the best way to reward the top performances.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions have not been made public. One person directly involved in studying the various concepts said none has been brought to the Players Advisory Council.
The Athletic first reported on movement toward a change of format for the season finale.
Any change would need approval by the PGA Tour board, and the official said while not impossible, it was unlikely to be decided before this year’s Tour Championship.
The tour is leaning toward a bracket of seeds, which is not necessarily straight match play. While considered the purest format in golf competition, match play on television can be less compelling as the field shrinks, especially for fans who have only one match on the course.
One of the options involves stroke play to narrow the field and a form of medal matches, which is head-to-head stroke play, assuring 18 holes. Another idea being reviewed is having matches decide positions from No. 1 through No. 8, with a big discrepancy in prize money.
Scottie Scheffler won the FedEx Cup last year and earned a $25 million bonus.
Commissioner Jay Monahan had said in his year-end remarks to the staff that “everything is on the table,” and that includes the Tour Championship.
The Tour Championship has struggled to find the best way to crown a season champion since the FedEx Cup began in 2007. Tiger Woods won the FedEx Cup and Phil Mickelson won the Tour Championship in 2009, leading to two storylines — and trophies — from one tournament.
Tour officials had contemplated keeping the Tour Championship intact, followed by an extra day when the top players in the standings would play for the FedEx Cup. That was scrapped for what became known as “starting strokes” in 2019.
The top seed began the tournament at 10-under par with a two-shot lead over the No. 2 seed, on down the list until the final five qualifiers in the 30-man field started at even par.
That allowed for one winner, but only twice in six years — Rory McIlroy in 2019 and in 2022 — has the FedEx Cup champion had the lowest actual score over 72 holes at East Lake. Xander Schauffele was medalist in 2020 and tied FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland in 2023.
Among the four iterations of the FedEx Cup was 2008, when the tour was trying to create more volatility. Vijay Singh won the opening two playoff events and did well enough in the third event that he only had to finish 72 holes at East Lake to win the cup.
It was always a case of choosing between the potential for drama and crowning a champion the best player. By resetting the points for the Tour Championship — as the tour had done since 2009 — it allowed everyone in the field a chance to win the FedEx Cup. But there were years when the best player had a bad week and didn’t win.
“You can’t call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament,” Scheffler said last year before going on to win the FedEx Cup.
The PGA Tour already is going through substantial changes. Only the top 100 players after this season will keep their full cards — down from 125 players — and field sizes will be smaller starting in 2026.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour remains in discussions with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf about becoming a minority investor. Still unclear is what that would mean for players who bolted for LIV and its Saudi riches returning to the PGA Tour.
Also, Monahan is part of a search committee for a CEO of the commercial PGA Tour Enterprises.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
