The PGA Tour season comes to a close this weekend with the TOUR Championship in Atlanta, as the top 30 golfers on the tour this season battle it out.
This year, however, the PGA Tour is using a different format to determine a TOUR Champion for the 2025 season compared to previous seasons. The change means that Scottie Scheffler, who is the No. 1 player in the FedEx Cup standings, will not have an advantage over the competition like he did last season.
The PGA Tour’s decision to change the format is the latest in the organization’s search for the right way to determine a true TOUR champion. Here’s why the PGA Tour made the decision to change its format for the final tournament of the year.
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TOUR Championship format change, explained
From 2019 to 2024, the TOUR Championship used a “Starting Strokes” staggered format, meaning players received advantages based on how well they placed in the FedEx Cup standings. Last year, for example, Scottie Scheffler won the Tour Championship after beginning the tournament at -10, two shots better than second place as every other participant staggered down to even par.
That format changed in 2025, as the PGA Tour reverted to each player beginning the tournament at even-par. In May, the PGA Tour announced this change as a way to make the tournament more competitive across the board.
“Our Fan Forward initiative has helped us evaluate each part of the PGA TOUR season and today’s announcement is an important first step in the evolution of our postseason,” commissioner Jay Monahan said. “The Player Advisory Council led a thorough process to respond to what our fans are asking for: The most competitive golf in the world, played for the highest stakes, in the most straightforward and engaging format.”
In addition to the most-significant change, the PGA Tour is also making the course at East Lake more difficult than in year’s past, and while the qualification system remained the same, the PGA Tour said it will analyze that as well. Scheffler, who benefitted from the “Starting Strokes” format last year, agreed with the PGA Tour’s decisions.
“We want the TOUR Championship to be the hardest tournament to qualify for and the FedExCup trophy the most difficult to win,” Scheffler said. “Shifting the TOUR Championship to a more straight-up format with a tougher course setup makes it easier for fans to follow and provides a more challenging test for players – which brings out the best competition.”
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Who qualified for the Tour Championship?
The top 30 players in the FedEx Cup Standings will play in Atlanta for a chance to win the PGA Tour Championship. Here’s a look at the 30 players taking part in this year’s tournament.
| FedEx Cup place | Player |
| 1. | Scottie Scheffler |
| 2. | Rory McIlroy |
| 3. | J.J. Spaun |
| 4. | Justin Rose |
| 5. | Tommy Fleetwood |
| 6. | Ben Griffin |
| 7. | Russell Henley |
| 8. | Sepp Straka |
| 9. | Robert MacIntyre |
| 10. | Maverick McNealy |
| 11. | Harris English |
| 12. | Justin Thomas |
| 13. | Cameron Young |
| 14. | Ludvig Aberg |
| 15. | Andrew Novak |
| 16. | Keegan Bradley |
| 17. | Sam Burns |
| 18. | Brian Harman |
| 19. | Corey Conners |
| 20. | Patrick Cantlay |
| 21. | Collin Morikawa |
| 22. | Viktor Hovland |
| 23. | Hideki Matsuyama |
| 24. | Shane Lowry |
| 25. | Nick Taylor |
| 26. | Harry Hall |
| 27. | Jacob Bridgeman |
| 28. | Sungjae Im |
| 29. | Chris Gotterup |
| 30. | Akshay Bhatia |
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TOUR Championship payout
The winner of the TOUR Championship will win $10 million, which is double the winnings for the second-place finisher. The rest of the payout will stagger down to the No. 30 finisher, who is set to earn just $355,000 for the tournament.
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