There have been some angry reactions to the new Tour Championship format, which was announced on Tuesday by PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. But count two-time FedEx Cup champion Tiger Woods among those who are all for it.
“It makes it a lot less complicated, that’s for sure,” Woods said at a Wednesday press conference at East Lake. “It’s pretty simple. It’s pretty straightforward. It’s very different, but I think it has simplified things not only for the players but certainly for the fans. The scenarios don’t play out as complicated as what’s been described on TV. It has made it much easier to understand going in.”
The new format will eliminate the complicated math that has plagued the Tour Championship, and there will no longer be the possibility of two players holding trophies on Sunday night (a Tour Championship victor and a FedEx Cup winner).
Under the new format, which will begin next season, all 30 players who qualify for the Tour Championship will be given an assigned score based on their FedEx Cup standing.
The leader starts at 10 under, 2nd at eight under, 3rd at seven under, 4th at six under and 5th at five under. The next five groups of five players will be assigned values of four under (6th to 10th), three under, two under, one under and, for 26th to 30th, even par. If you win the Tour Championship you also win the FedEx Cup.
While Woods likes the change, not all fans were for it. Luke Donald, however, just wishes it would have happened sooner.
Good to know that with this new Fedex Cup system coming into effect next year, that when applied to previous years would have resulted in me winning it all in 2011!! Patiently waiting by my mail box for the trophy and check to arrive! Let me know when it’s on its way @PGATOUR 😉
— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) September 18, 2018