PGA Tour sets crazy new Tour Championship format in 2019 - thoughts?!
HUGE changes set for FedEx Cup in 2019, with the leader starting at 10-under par in the Tour Championship!
The PGA Tour has revealed the final piece of its dramatic NEW FedEx Cup system scheduled for next year.
To simplify things, the leader of the FedEx Cup following the BMW Championship, the second of a three playoff events, will begin the Tour Championship at 10-under par.
The next four players on the list will start at 8-under through to 5-under, while sixth to 10th will start at 4-under par with total regressing by one every five players. Those at 26th to 30th will start at level-par, so 10 strokes off the pace before the tournament even starts!
“It's as simple as it can get,” said Andy Pazder, the Tour’s chief of operations.
From there, it’s winner take all. The winner of the Tour Championship wins the FedEx Cup. So they'll be absolutely none of THIS going on.
“It's that simple,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. “We have no doubt it will create a compelling, dramatic conclusion for the Tour’s ultimate prize.”
The PGA Tour has also decided to move the end of the season before Labor Day weekend as to avoid annual conflicts with NFL and college football games.
As for what the Official World Golf Ranking will make of the professional game’s only “net” tournament is open for debate.
“We're in conversations with the world ranking governing board on the best manner in which to allocate world ranking points to the Tour Championship, and that will happen,” said Pazder. “We have not reached a conclusion.”
It also sounds like a number of players aren't particularly enamoured about things either.
Pazder presented the concept to the player advisory council in May, and he entered that meeting with a healthy amount of concern on many fronts, most notably how the Tour Championship format change could impact a player’s finish on the lucrative season-ending point list.
“One of the things that we thought might cause some scrutiny or maybe even derail this whole thing is that issue,” Pazder said. “To the PAC’s credit, they quickly realized that’s great. What’s wrong with having greater consequences all the way through the final round.”
Will THIS change make the FedEx Cup more exciting or is it fine the way it is right now? Share your thoughts on our social media channels over on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
