Big changes may be on the horizon for the PGA Tour's season finale.
The proposed changes to the Tour Championship, discussed at last week’s Player Advisory Council meeting, will be put to a vote in the coming weeks, according to Golfweek.
The most notable proposed change is the elimination of the “starting strokes” system, which has been the focal point of controversy over the past few years. The system was introduced in 2019, in which the leaders of the FedEx Cup race receive a head start to reward their performance up to that point of the season.
Adam Scott, who's part of the PGA Tour policy board, told Golfweek that removing the starting strokes system is a point of emphasis.
“I hope so. I think everybody involved wants that to be the case,” Scott said.
Sam Burns, who is part of the competition committee, agreed with the Australian.
“Right now, it’s a bit confusing for fans to have a tournament where we start even all year and then in our biggest tournament of the year, there are starting strokes. There’s a bit of a disconnect," he said.
The new format will also steer clear of a match-play or bracket-style structure, which has been a popular suggestion from fans.
“In fairness, we all kicked it around and imagined it and this conversation went on for months—not every day, but three or four meetings about match play and brackets and stuff,” Scott said. “It’s hard to wrap your head around you play one style all season and then your final event is an entirely different format. I think the players felt like we had match play in pro golf and there’s a reason why it doesn’t go that well. Big names go out and TV dies. It seems compelling early in the week but when Nos. 1 and 2 lose early you’re in for a long weekend and there’s also not a lot of golf.”
Instead, the Tour Championship would remain a stroke-play event, with the field potentially being cut down to 16, 8 and then 4 on Sunday.
The vote, which is expected to take place soon, will finalize the format and begin a new era of the Tour Championship.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The PGA Tour May Overhaul the FedEx Cup Finale at East Lake.
