Miami (AFP) – Rory McIlroy is backing the format change that will see all 30 players tee off as equals as they battle for the FedEx Cup in the PGA Tour’s Tour Championship starting on Thursday. A $10 million winner’s cheque will be on offer at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for the climax of the season-ending playoff series, with world number one Scottie Scheffler starting as the man to beat.
But unlike previous seasons, Scheffler will be starting on even par with the rest of the field following the decision to scrap the controversial “starting strokes” format. Last year, Scheffler started the Tour Championship with a two-shot advantage at 10 under to reflect his season-long dominance of the FedEx standings. That system was eliminated for the 2025 tournament, however, following feedback from fans, with tour officials stating in May that a conventional 72-hole strokeplay tournament offered the “most straightforward and engaging format.”
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Masters champion McIlroy said Tuesday he backs the move to switch formats. “It has a different feel,” McIlroy said. “Any one of the 30 has a chance to win the FedExCup this year, which is obviously a lot different than it’s been in previous years. It’s a clean slate for everyone, and it’s a great opportunity for one of the guys that maybe wasn’t a huge part of the season to put their hand up and have a chance to win the big prize at the end of the year. It’s also a great opportunity for some of the guys that have had great years to sort of rubber stamp the season a little bit and end on a really, really positive note. I think there’s still a lot to play for this week.”
McIlroy said he had been in a minority who “didn’t hate” the starting strokes format. “I thought that the player that played the best during the course of the season should have had an advantage coming in here,” he said. “But the majority of people just didn’t like the starting strokes.” McIlroy, who served on the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council (PAC) which had helped implement the format changes, said switching to a match play format had been considered but discarded. “Match play was on the table, and that got canned for this year,” McIlroy said. “I think it’s just hard for the players to reconcile that we play stroke play for every week of the year but then the season-ending tournament is going to be decided by match play.”
McIlroy’s Ryder Cup team-mate, England’s Tommy Fleetwood, also approves of the format switch. “It’s probably more exciting for the players to come here, everybody on a level field, knowing it’s an unbelievable opportunity to have a great week, win the tournament and leave here unbelievably happy,” Fleetwood said.
© 2024 AFP
