Rory McIlroy Hints at More Changes to FedEx Cup Tour Championship Format
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The Tour Championship will tee off Thursday, with 30 of the best players in the world vying for the season-long title where Rory McIlroy seeks his fourth FedEx Cup title at East Lake.
Scottie Scheffler is the favorite, fresh off his win at the BMW Championship. McIlroy is the second favorite, followed by Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley and Ludvig Aberg.
The 2025 Tour Championship is taking on a new format. All players will start level, unlike recent years. Previously, the points leader would begin the tournament at 10-under, second place at 8-under, with each place after that starting one stroke further back until you reach even par.
Fans and golfers alike voiced their displeasure with that system. But apparently, McIlroy was not among them.
"I'm maybe part of the minority. I didn't hate the starting strokes," McIlroy told reporters Tuesday.
"I thought that the player that played the best during the course of the season should have had an advantage coming in here. But the majority of people just didn't like the starting strokes.
"I was on the PAC when we were trying to go through that, and really it was just a way to try to simplify the advantage that the top players were going to get over the course of the week instead of Steve Sands doing calculations on a white board," the Northern Irishman joked.
OWINGS MILLS, MARYLAND - AUGUST 17: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the first green during the final round of the BMW Championship 2025 at Caves Valley Golf Club on August 17, 2025 in...
OWINGS MILLS, MARYLAND - AUGUST 17: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the first green during the final round of the BMW Championship 2025 at Caves Valley Golf Club on August 17, 2025 in Owings Mills, Maryland. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) More
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
With all players now starting at even par, anyone can win. McIlroy clearly feels that format is not the fairest way to determine a season champion.
But as a member of that PAC (Player Advisory Council), another format was brought to the forefront.
"Look, there was a lot of other stuff on the table. Match play was on the table, and that got canned for this year. That might be brought back up in the conversation for next year or the year after," said McIlroy.
It remains to be seen how long the new, current system will be used. But if someone who barely finished inside the top 30 after the BMW wins the FedEx Cup, leaving stars like Scheffler and McIlroy empty-handed, another change is not hard predict.
Determining a season-long champion since the inception of the FedEx Cup has long been up for debate. But McIlroy is just going to roll with whatever comes.
"I don't know if it's the best format, but it's the one that we have for this week."
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