The Tour Championship, which ends golf’s season, may be played in a bracket format that includes stroke play and match play, a source confirmed to ESPN on Friday, as the PGA Tour considers revamping its playoff format.
Tweaking the Tour Championship format is one of a handful of potential changes being considered, sources said, adding that “everything is being considered.”
The Tour Championship is the final event of the three-tournament FedExCup Playoffs, with 30 players advancing to compete for the $25 million year-end top prize that Scottie Scheffler will win in 2024.
Under the current format, players at the top of the FedEx Cup standings enter the Tour Championship with a points advantage. While it may only be two more strokes for the No. 1 golfer than the No. 2 golfer, Scheffler questioned the “silliness” of the format in August.
“You can’t call it a game that lasts a whole season and boil it down to a tournament,” Scheffler said. “Suppose, we get to East Lake and my neck suddenly gets inflamed and it doesn’t heal like it did at The Players. I finish 30th in the FedExCup because I had to withdraw from the last game? This is really a long game. A full season of games?
Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, said last season that he liked the status quo, although he admitted it might not be the best way to determine the best golfer in a season.
“I like this format because if it wasn’t for this format, then we wouldn’t have had a chance against Scottie because he was so far ahead,” McIlroy said. “So I really like that format.”
Any changes could begin as early as the 2025 season. The Tour Championship is scheduled for August 21-24 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
The Athletic first reported potential changes to the Tour Championship, with sources calling them “advanced discussions.”
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Field Level Media contributed to this report.
