Latest news with #EastLake
National Post
3 days ago
- Business
- National Post
PGA Tour nixes starting strokes advantage for leaders at championship
Article content DUBLIN, Ohio — The PGA Tour voted to overhaul the season-ending Tour Championship so that all 30 players start from scratch and the low score on a tougher East Lake course wins the FedEx Cup. Article content The change is effective this year, with more tweaks still in the works. The announcement Tuesday evening followed a PGA Tour board vote and a meeting of the Player Advisory Council that has been trying for more than six months to find a solution. Article content The primary goal was to get rid of the staggered start that none of the players seemed to like. Article content Since 2019, the leader of the FedEx Cup going to East Lake started at 10-under par before the tournament even began. That gave him a two-shot lead over the No. 2 player, and a staggered from there until the last five players who qualified for the 30-man field were at even par. Article content Now it will effectively be a 72-hole shootout — everyone starts at even par, just like any other tournament — with FedEx Cup going to the winner. Article content 'We want the Tour Championship to be the hardest tournament to qualify for and the FedEx Cup trophy the most difficult to win,' said Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world who won his first FedEx Cup title last year. He serves on the PAC. Article content '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.' Article content Article content Still to be announced is the prize fund. Scheffler received a $25 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup last year. The tour indicated the bonus money would be distributed more evenly to account for all 30 players — regardless of their position in the standings — have the same chance of winning. Article content Scheffler won last year at 30-under par for a four-shot victory over Collin Morikawa. Scheffler, the No. 1 seed the last three years, had a raw total of 264. Morikawa shot 262, but he was the No. 7 seed and thus gave Scheffler a six-shot head start. Article content The tour said it leaned on feedback from its fans to help determine what would make the most compelling finale. Article content '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,' PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Starting strokes removed at Tour Championship
The PGA Tour has scrapped starting strokes at the season-ending Tour 2019 the format allowed the player with the most FedExCup points to start the tournament on 10 under in a change for this year's event, all 30 players will tee off at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on level FedExCup is a season-long points competition which culminates with the play-offs - three tournaments that end with the Tour provides players with a ranking, which under the previous format would mean they started the final event with a scoring advantage, depending on their position. The player in second would start on eight under, third on seven under, fourth on six under and fifth on five remaining 25 players would be split into groups of five and given their starting score based off their Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement:, external "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."Other changes include a new course set-up "to encourage more risk/reward moments", and the PGA Tour said it was "studying the qualification system" for the Scheffler won the Tour Championship last year, finishing four shots ahead of Colin Morikawa in Scheffler called the FedEx Cup's play-off format "silly" last world number one said in a statement on the changes: "Shifting the Tour Championship to a more straight-up format with a tougher course set-up makes it easier for fans to follow and provides a more challenging test for players, which brings out the best competition."
The Independent
4 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Scottie Scheffler reacts to PGA Tour's major change to season-ending Tour Championship
Scottie Scheffler has welcomed a major change to the season-ending Tour Championship that will see the PGA Tour finale's format simplified. The conclusion to the FedEx Cup, the event is held annually at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta and has since 2019 seen players start in a staggered strokes set-up, with the player entering with the most FedEx Cup points start at 10-under-par. The player with the second most points would then start at -8, and so on and so forth down through the final five players in the 30-man field at evens. The PGA Tour has, however, confirmed that the event will be overhauled to revert to a straight strokeplay tournament contested across four rounds, with the winner after 72 holes capturing the FedEx Cup and a five-year Tour exemption. World No 1 Scheffler - who captured his first crown last year despite Collin Morikawa bettering his tally across the event - believes that the switch should make it easier for fans to follow the Tour Championship. 'We want the Tour Championship to be the hardest tournament to qualify for and the FedEx Cup trophy the most difficult to win," Scheffler said in a statement. "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." The PGA Tour are also thought to be considering a change of venue for the tournament, though East Lake could remain in the rotation having hosted since 2004. From 2007 to 2018, the PGA Tour crowned two golfers at the Tour Championship, with the winner of the tournament and the leader in the season-long FedEx Cup points race both recognised.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
PGA Tour nixes ‘starting strokes' format for Tour Championship
May 28 - The PGA Tour has altered the format for the season-ending Tour Championship, doing away with the staggered scoring start and promising to create a tougher setup for East Lake Golf Club. The tour's announcement Tuesday cited feedback from its "Fan Forward" initiative that said fans wanted to see winning scores closer to par. "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," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. "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 previous "starting strokes" format was introduced in 2019 and rewarded the FedEx Cup points leader by allowing him to start the Tour Championship at 10 under par. The player in second place would begin the tournament at 8 under, the third player at 7 under, the fourth at 6 under and the fifth at 5 under. The rest of the 30-man field would be slotted between 4 under and even par. The FedEx Cup would be awarded to the winner of the Tour Championship. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy won it twice under this format (2019, 2022) and Scottie Scheffler won his first last year after starting at 10 under. But Scheffler was a critic of the convoluted format, and he took part in the decision to change it as a member of the Players Advisory Council. Now, all 30 players who qualify for the Tour Championship via the FedEx Cup playoffs will start on even footing with the same chance of winning the FedEx Cup, which last year came with a $25 million bonus. "We want the Tour Championship to be the hardest tournament to qualify for and the FedEx Cup trophy the most difficult to win," Scheffler said in a statement. "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." The tour said its rules committee will find ways to "encourage more risk/reward moments" at East Lake, the Atlanta club that's hosted the Tour Championship every year since 2004. The tour's announcement also said the field will remain at 30 players for 2025, but the PAC is "studying the qualification system" for future years to make sure it is the hardest tournament for players to qualify for. --Field Level Media
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
FedEx Cup finale at East Lake goes to a 72-hole shootout where everyone starts from scratch
DUBLIN, Ohio — The PGA Tour voted to overhaul the season-ending Tour Championship so that all 30 players start from scratch and the low score on a tougher East Lake course wins the FedEx Cup. The change is effective this year, with more tweaks still in the works. The announcement Tuesday evening followed a PGA Tour board vote and a meeting of the Player Advisory Council that has been trying for more than six months to find a solution. The primary goal was to get rid of the staggered start that none of the players seemed to like. Since 2019, the leader of the FedEx Cup going to East Lake started at 10-under par before the tournament even began. That gave him a two-shot lead over the No. 2 player, and a staggered from there until the last five players who qualified for the 30-man field were at even par. Now it will effectively be a 72-hole shootout — everyone starts at even par, just like any other tournament — with FedEx Cup going to the winner. Still to be announced is the prize fund. Scottie Scheffler received a $25 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup last year. The tour indicated the bonus money would be distributed more evenly to account for all 30 players — regardless of their position — have the same chance of winning. Another key to the changes is East Lake, with players wanting the strongest test possible to decide the FedEx Cup champion. ___ AP golf:
