Is the PGA Tour going to make a big change in the FedEx Cup season-ending event? The changes proposed by Jay Monahan & co. recently have been a major topic of discussion in the golf community. The recommendation of reduced field size caused an uproar as fans were concerned about the lack of opportunities for new golfers.
However, the community might be relieved on behalf of the pros as this time around, the PGA Tour may implement something that favors top-performing players. We are talking about playing formats of the Tour Championship.
As it turns out, “The PGA Tour is in advanced discussions to revamp the Tour Championship format into a bracket-style event,” as reported by @TheAthletic on their official X handle. In fact, they also suggested, “It could be reimagined as early as this year,” hinting that the changes will be seen in the 2025 Tour Championship.
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This will be a joy for most in the golf community, including many players like Scottie Scheffler. The world no. 1 has previously stated his displeasure in the current format as he said it was “weird” and “Not the Best Identifier,” of the best player of the season.
This remark was made in defence of one of the top golfers of the PGA Tour in 2023, Jon Rahm. Based on the current format, Rahm didn’t have the same advantage as others as he couldn’t gather FedEx Cup points after his move to LIV Golf. That put him in a disadvantage going into the FedEx Cup PlayOffs as despite winning multiple titles in the year, he could have only qualified for a 2 stroke lead.
Scheffler, along with Lucas Glover, Jon Rahm, and others have also mentioned that the format “doesn’t make any sense.” Glover particularly mentioned how “Some of the guys who were pushing for 70 are now backtracking a little bit. I don’t know if it is because they are outside the top 70 or they understand it’s kind of silly. We’re touting ourselves as the best Tour in the world, so why wouldn’t you reward the best 125 guys and let them play in your biggest events?”
It is interesting to see that quite a few golfers hold such an opinion about the current format. So how will the proposed format for the FedEx Cup Playoffs work? The Athletic had a few more details to share about it. Let’s Take a loot at what they had to say.
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Will the bracket format give Scottie Scheffler an advantage?
As mentioned by The Athletic, the PGA Tour had a designated event that used the bracket format to determine the champion. The tournament in question is the World Golf Championships Match Plays, which was discontinued before the change of calendar schedule in 2023. In the event, 16 players went head-to-head in a bracket format where two from each bracket competed with each other. They played 18 holes to determine who came out on top before qualifying for the next stage of the bracket.
From the Round of 16, the stages proceeded to the Quarterfinals, the Semifinals, and the Finals. Last time around, both, Scottie Scheffler & Rory McIlroy were a part of the bracket. They reached the semifinals before losing to Cameron Young & Sam Burns. Burns ended up beating Young in the final to secure the title. Having something similar at the Tour Championship will surely be a welcomed and exciting change as it gives every player a fair opportunity for victory without providing an advantage to anyone.
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The Tour Championship is scheduled to begin on August 24, 2025. Let’s see if the fans will get to see the bracket format being used then.