Despite the PGA Tour facing its share of criticisms recently, it’s worth noting their initiative to enhance the viewing experience in the early part of the 2025 season. The tour, undoubtedly the world’s largest, has been under fire for perceived lack of interest in addressing slow play issues and for biased policies favoring the upper echelon of players. Adding to these grievances is the notion that certain events are exceptionally dull, with the Tour Championship repeatedly failing to hit the target.
Traditionally, the Tour Championship has been a highly anticipated event, rivaling the Players Championship for prestige. It is the stage where the year’s best player is honored. However, the discontent surrounding the event’s format has been palpable over time. The current model, which sees the player leading the FedEx Cup standings start the tournament at East Lake at 10 under par, with the rest of the pack between eight under and level par, has been met with dissatisfaction.
Rex Hoggard, speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, hinted at a potential overhaul of the Championship format, which could even come into effect this season. He stated, “I had one player tell me that those changes could probably be implemented this year, that you’re probably not going to get pushback from players… if the tour moves in the direction that I think most players are thinking – that it’s going to be some sort of combination of three, maybe four days of traditional stroke play and then the field gets cut and then there’s some sort of medal match play on Sunday to come up with the big winner.”
Scottie Scheffler’s 2024 performance indirectly pushed the PGA Tour to reconsider the Championship format. It would have been a PR disaster if Scheffler hadn’t clinched the FedEx Cup given his stellar season. Simultaneously, it wouldn’t have been prudent to award Scheffler an unfair edge in Atlanta, disregarding his season’s dominance.
Before the event, Scheffler voiced his reservations about the format, stating, “I think we need a season-long race. I think the FedExCup has been really good for our tour and for the game. I think it’s something exciting to finish off the year. Personally when I watched it I found it kind who was going to end up where, and I didn’t necessarily mind that the winner of the TOUR Championship wasn’t the winner of the FedExCup. It provides a little less volatility, which is the negative.”
A simple solution could be to reward the season’s best player and then hold separate FedEx Cup playoffs for a smaller yet considerable prize. The challenge lies in designing a Tour Championship that rewards the season’s top player and at the same time, keeps the audience hooked till the last minute.
Fortunately, the winds of change seem to be blowing, and we might soon witness a revamped Tour Championship that finally finds the winning formula.