DUBLIN, Ohio – Ding, dong, the wicked “starting strokes” at the Tour Championship is dead.
The PGA Tour on Monday ditched the much-maligned format that created a staggered start to the FedEx Cup finale. The starting-strokes format, which was instituted in 2019, gave FedEx Cup leaders in the season-long points race a head start in the Playoff finale.
“Silly,” “gimmicky” and “wonky” were among the kinder words used to describe it. Max Homa, a member of the Tour Player Advisory Council, may have put it best: “I’m just glad we’re back to golf as we kind of know it.”
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan couldn’t pick one moment when asked us to name when it became clear to him that the staggered start wasn’t working, but said, “if you step back and you look at the starting strokes system that we had, you know, as you come into a week, if there’s a lot of questioning on that format Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, that’s not good for the tournament. That’s an indication that maybe there’s a better way of addressing it.”
Effective for the Tour Championship in late August, the 30-man field will all start at even par and the FedEx Cup trophy will be awarded to the low score of the 72-hole stroke-play event at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
“What we’ve done is we’ve created a lot more volatility for the players and for our fans, as you look at the great trophy and you look at the meaning for it in the eyes of our players for them to go compete and win,” Monahan said.
Had last year’s tournament been played under the new format, Collin Morikawa would have been the winner. “Could’a, should’a, would’a, right?” he said. “I really like everyone starting at even. It’s still incredibly hard to make it to that final 30. It is the sign of an amazing year. So if you’re there you know you should have a chance at the title, in my opinion.”
Added Homa: “To make it about winning something and not cultivating it to like, make sure that the guy who had the best year is going to probably win. It never made a lot of sense. I’m a fan of so many other sports, and I know we’re not exactly like them, but the story lines that come with the (NBA’s) Warriors losing after having the best season of all time. The history of the (NFL’s) Patriots losing to the Giants after being undefeated. Like those are things that we tie, like we hold on to. And it’s not to take away from their season, it’s you just got to keep earning it.”
Scheffler has benefited from the staggered start the last three years and won the Cup thanks to his handicapped start last year but he has consistently been critical of the format.
“I didn’t love the previous format of starting strokes, and I really like the direction where we’re going,” he said.
On paper, it would seem that Scheffler would stand to have the most to lose but he doesn’t look at it that way.
“If I want to win the FedExCup, I have to play well at the last week of the season, and it’s just simple as that,” he said.
It’s not the most imaginative of changes to the Tour Championship, which considered match play and reducing the field after rounds to build the drama. Monahan suggested their work isn’t done yet.
“This is part of a long journey of changes that we’re going to be making,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect us to stand still. I think we’re going to continue to work with all of our partners to see how we perform this year, and then look at additional ways for us to make the Tour Championship as strong as possible of the conclusion of the season as it can be.
“I don’t have any timeframe for when those, you know, what those changes will be or when those changes will be, but rest assured our work isn’t done.”
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