The PGA Tour announced long-awaited changes to the format for the Tour Championship, but ESPN dropped a hint that East Lake Golf Club may not be the exclusive site of the event after 2027.
East Lake, where golf legend Bobby Jones learned to play the game, became the permanent site in 2004 and is the only club to host the FedEx Cup championship. East Lake’s contract to host the Tour Championship runs through 2027. This year’s tournament is Aug. 18-24.
Club officials would not comment on the ESPN report, which came from off-the-record sources.
The idea of moving the tournament might be strictly based on sponsorship money, as it coincides with the end of Coca-Cola’s current contract as a “proud partner” with the PGA Tour. Atlanta-based Coke was the presenting sponsor of the Tour Championship 2002-15, before being joined as “proud partner” by Southern Co. in 2016 and Accenture in 2022.
From 1997 to 2003, East Lake alternated as tournament host with Champions Golf Club, a Houston club founded by Masters champions and World Golf Hall of Famers Jack Burke Jr. and Jimmy Demaret.
The Tour Championship began in 1987 at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio and spent a year at Champions Golf Club, Pebble Beach and Harbour Town before two-year stints at Pinehurst, the Olympic Club and Southern Hills.
The PGA Tour announced this week the Tour Championship would do away with the universally disliked starting-strokes scoring system, where the FedEx Cup points leader began at 10 under before the tournament started, two shots ahead of the No. 2 points leader. The remainder of the field began further behind, depending on their standing, and the Nos. 26-30 players started at par.
The tournament now will be conducted as a 72-hole stroke play event, with all 30 players in the field starting at even par. The winner will get the FedEx Cup, the $18 million bonus and a five-year exemption.
“I didn’t love the previous format of starting strokes, and I really like the direction where we’re going,” said Scottie Scheffler, the reigning FedEx Cup champion. “Making the Tour Championship is going to be the results from a great body of work over the course of a season, and then you have an opportunity to win the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup.”
Xander Schauffele, who won the Tour Championship in 2017 and has finished second three other times, said: “I think it will be easier to follow for fans now that everyone is starting at level. “And, shoot, if you make it in as 30th — I made in as 27th before — you really have a nice look at trying to win this thing.”
The Tour also said the conditions for the tournament, based on feedback from its “Fan Forward Initiative,” would be more difficult and drive scores closer to par.
“In response to data indicating fans want to see winning scores closer to par, the PGA Tour rules committee will adjust its course setup approach to encourage more risk/reward moments throughout each round, further heightening the drama and competition to determine the FedEx Cup champion,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said.
Before the starting-strokes scoring system began, the winning score at East Lake was typically 10-12 under for the week. Additional length, thicker rough and more difficult hole locations can be used to make the course more challenging.
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