McIlroy endorses alteration in season finale format to a 'fresh start' scheme
The PGA Tour has announced that the 2025 Tour Championship will be a conventional 72-hole strokeplay tournament, following feedback from fans and a statement from tour officials in May. This change marks a departure from the "starting strokes" format, which reflected a player's season-long dominance of the FedEx standings, and a return to traditional golf competition.
Rory McIlroy, Masters champion, and Tommy Fleetwood, McIlroy's Ryder Cup team-mate, have voiced their support for the switch. McIlroy, who served on the PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council (PAC), was involved in discussions about the format changes. He finds the change in format an opportunity for a player who wasn't a significant part of the season to win the big prize at the end of the year.
Fleetwood shares McIlroy's sentiment, expressing that it's more exciting for players to come to the tournament with everyone on a level field, knowing it's an opportunity to win and leave happy. The conventional strokeplay format maintains consistency with the rest of the season for the players, eliminating the need for a match play format, which may have been difficult for players to adapt to.
McIlroy believes that the player who performed best during the season should have had an advantage, but the majority of people disliked the starting strokes format. He stated that he was in a minority who "didn't hate" the starting strokes format. The switch to a conventional strokeplay format provides an equal opportunity for all 30 players to win the FedExCup.
Scottie Scheffler, who started the tournament on even par in previous seasons due to the scrapped "starting strokes" format, will now face the same challenges as his competitors. Maverick McNealy, who served as co-chair of the Player Advisory Council along with Keith Mitchell, was also a member of the PAC and contributed to the discussions about the format changes.
The Tour Championship for the 2025 season will take place at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, offering a $10 million winner's cheque. McIlroy sees the change in format as an opportunity for any of the 30 players to claim the coveted title, making the tournament more exciting for both players and fans alike.
Read also:
- United States tariffs pose a threat to India, necessitating the recruitment of adept negotiators or strategists, similar to those who had influenced Trump's decisions.
- Weekly happenings in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Southwest region's most popular posts, accompanied by an inquiry:
- Discussion between Putin and Trump in Alaska could potentially overshadow Ukraine's concerns
