PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – PGA Tour executives confirmed Wednesday that a format change for the Tour Championship could be implemented as early as this summer if players, fans and partners can align on a concept.
The Athletic recently reported that the Tour was exploring possible tweaks to the season finale – including a match-play conclusion – after using a starting-strokes system since 2019.
“We’re in the middle of a process of asking ourselves things like, Well, what things from other sports could we do? What about the meaning of the body of work throughout the season? How does that relate to the playoffs and enhanced excitement going into East Lake?” said Tyler Dennis, the Tour’s chief competitions officer. “There’s going to be more to come on that, but we’re very focused on it. If through this collaborative effort we find a format that everyone feels really positive about, we may implement it as soon as this year.”
The policy board is expected to review a series of proposals from the Tour at its scheduled meeting next month. It’s possible that the proposal could be approved for the Tour Championship in August, or pushed to next year if more discussion is needed.
Billy Schroder, the Tour’s senior vice president of competitions, said that a months-long survey of 50,000 fans found that viewers wanted more drama and consequential play during each round of the season finale, not just at the end.
“It’s a balance,” added Andy Weitz, the Tour’s chief marketing and communications officer. “You want the fan at the center, you want the players to feel supported by the process, and you want the competition to be meaningful. We can tick those boxes and we can find something we think is a winning solution. In the past, it’s been driven by opinion. It’s now driven by data.”
