Tour Championship nixes starting strokes
East Lake gets 'simple' format fix for 2025 FedEx finale; McIlroy doesn't RSVP Jack
Scottie Scheffler won’t be getting starting strokes at East Lake this year (Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images)
Ding-dong, the starting-stroke system is dead.
The PGA Tour announced on Tuesday that it would eliminate starting strokes in the Tour Championship as part of changes to enhance the FedEx Cup season finale at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. In its place will be something very simple: the winner of the season-ending Tour Championship will also win the FedEx Cup.
There will be no points reset or staggered starting position for the leaders in season-long and playoff points. Which means getting to Atlanta and East Lake Golf Cub means you have an equal chance to win the entire thing.
The change was approved by the PGA Tour Policy Board on Tuesday, which met at the Memorial Tournament. It is possible the format changes again for 2026, as the Player Advisory Council will study qualification changes.
First implemented in 2019, starting strokes was a staggered start format with the FedEx Cup leader beginning the Tour Championship at 10-under par and a two-shot lead over the second player in points.
“Our Fan Forward initiative has helped us evaluate each part of the PGA Tour season and today’s announcement is an important first step in the evolution of our postseason,” said tour commissioner Jay Monahan. “The Player Advisory Council led a thorough process to respond to what our fans are asking for — the most competitive golf in the world, played for the highest stakes, in the most straightforward and engaging format.”
The tour announced three changes on Tuesday to the Tour Championship:
Elimination of Starting Strokes — The Tour Championship will be played as a 72-hole stroke-play event, with all players starting the tournament at even par. The best performer over the course of four rounds at the Tour Championship will win the FedEx Cup.
Adjustments to Course Setup — In response to data indicating fans want to see winning scores closer to par, the PGA Tour Rules Committee will adjust its course setup approach to encourage more risk/reward moments throughout each round, further heightening the drama and competition to determine the FedEx Cup Champion.
Tougher Qualification — The Tour Championship field size will remain at 30 players in 2025, but the Player Advisory Council is studying the qualification system of future years to raise the stakes on the entire FedEx Cup season and reinforce the Tour Championship as the hardest tournament to qualify for.
Scottie Scheffler — who has entered the Tour Championship as the No. 1 player in the FedEx Cup the last three seasons — endorsed the change to the starting-stroke system that spotted him a two-shot lead before the first ball was struck at East Lake. And he approves making East Lake a more stringent final test.
“We want the Tour Championship to be the hardest tournament to qualify for and the FedEx Cup trophy the most difficult to win,” said Scheffler, the reigning FedEx Cup champion and PAC member. “Shifting the Tour Championship to a more straight-up format with a tougher course setup makes it easier for fans to follow and provides a more challenging test for players — which brings out the best competition.”
With the elimination of starting strokes, the FedEx Cup bonus distributions for the top 30 positions through the Tour Championship will be balanced for 2025 to account for the increased volatility, reward season-long performance and recognize the significance of the FedEx Cup. The Tour has yet to announce what the distribution it will be.
Last year, the bonus pool for the FedEx Cup was $100 million, with $25 million going to the winner and $7.5 million to second place. The bonus money is expected to be altered to reward season-long play as well the significance of the FedEx Cup.
It could be that the top performers through the BMW Championship — the second playoff even that precedes the Tour Championship — are compensated based on the final point standings with a separate purse put in place for the Tour Championship.
NBC, CBS Sports and the Golf Channel worked closely with the PGA Tour to review the Fan Forward research and identify opportunities to enhance the postseason. As the Tour Championship rotates network coverage each year, NBC will present the the final two rounds of the Tour Championship live in 2025, with coverage on CBS in 2026.
“We applaud the PGA Tour and their Player Advisory Council for listening to fans and are excited to collaborate on one of the premier events in golf,” said NBC Sports president Rick Cordella. “NBC is proud to be the home of the Tour Championship in 2025 and showcase compelling competition with the PGA Tour’s top performers vying to become the FedEx Cup Champion.”
Said CBS Sports president and CEO David Berson: “We appreciate the collaboration with the PGA Tour and its Player Advisory Council, and we’re encouraged by efforts to focus on and strengthen the postseason to drive even more passion and excitement for fans.”
Jack Nicklaus excuses Rory McIlroy for skipping Memorial (Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images)
No courtesy call from McIlroy
Rory McIlroy is skipping this week’s Memorial Tournament, a first since 2017 and somewhat surprising since it is the third time this year he is missing one of the PGA Tour’s signature events.
Another surprise: he didn’t call tournament host Jack Nicklaus to tell him.
“Yeah, it surprised me,” Nicklaus said Tuesday in news conference in advance of the Memorial this begins Thursday at Muirfield Village. “But guys have got schedules and got things they do. And I haven’t talked to him for him to tell me why or why not. It’s just his call. I made a lot of calls that I had to make when I played, to play or not play, and sometimes it wasn’t as popular as people thought it was. But sometimes you have to make those calls.
“I don’t hold anything against Rory for that. He did what he likes to play. I know he likes to play so many in a row. He likes to play the week before a U.S. Open. And so that’s what he’s doing. … It’s very difficult, very difficult.
“I’m a big Rory fan, I always have been. I’m sure that I will remain that way. I just, I was a little surprised, yes.”
Nicklaus, 85, is hosting the tournament for the 50th time at Muirfield Village Golf Club, the course he designed in the early 1970s.
McIlroy, who won the Masters last month, has played the Memorial 13 times but is scheduled to play next week’s RBC Canadian Open and is expected to add the signature Travelers Championship the week following the U.S. Open.