The PGA Tour is reportedly considering a significant shake-up of its season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake, with plans to introduce a bracket-style tournament.
Since 2019, the PGA Tour has used a staggered scoring system based on FedEx Cup standings for its final tournament of the season, where the leading player in the FedEx Cup is given a two-shot lead over the second and so forth.
However, a change may be coming. According to The Athletic, Tour chiefs are discussing the possibility of switching to a bracketed format.
The report claims that either strokeplay or matchplay could be utilised, with players' positions in the FedEx Cup determining their byes in the initial rounds. This proposed change comes following divided opinions from fans and golfers about the current format.
Last year, FedEx Cup champion Scottie Scheffler labelled the existing Tour Championship format as "silly", expressing frustration that his lead in the standings only translated into a two-shot advantage in the season finale.
"I talked about it the last few years," Scheffler said last August. "I think it's silly. You can't call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament. Hypothetically, we get to East Lake and my neck flares up and it doesn't heal the way it did at the Players. I finished 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament. Is that really the season-long race? No. It is what it is."
However, not everyone is on the same page. Three-time FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy has a different take on the matter.
The Northern Irishman, who narrowly beat Scheffler to the title in 2022, believes that while the current format may not be the most fairest way to determine the year's top player, it does offer maximum entertainment.
"I love this format because if it wasn't this format, then none of us would have a chance against Scottie because he's so far ahead," McIlroy stated last year. "So I really like this format... I think it makes the Tour Championship more exciting from a consumer standpoint."
He added: "Is it the fairest reflection of who's been the best player of the year? Probably not. But I think at this point we're not in for totally fair; we're in for entertainment and for trying to put on the best product we possibly can."
