The PGA Tour announced major changes to the FedEx Cup Playoffs on Tuesday, and people are angry.
Earlier in the year, the Tour announced that the playoffs would be reduced to three events in 2019. But they revealed little about how an updated points system would work. Now we know.
The top 125 players at the end of the regular season will make the field for the Northern Trust. The top 70 after that event will advance to the BMW Championship. Finally, the top 30 will earn spots in the Tour Championship. That’s all more or less status quo from the current system.
But at East Lake, things get weird. There, players will be awarded a to-par score to start the event based on their rankings. For example, the No. 1-ranked pro will begin the finale at -10, No. 2 will start at -8, and so on. Players in the 26th-30th spots will begin at even par.
Next year's Tour Championship will have strokes-based scoring system (below). All 30 players enter East Lake w/ assigned value. Winner take all from there
1st : -10
2nd: -8
3rd: -7
4th: -6
5th: -5
6th to 10th: -4
11th to 15th: -3
16th to 20th: -2
21st to 25th: -1
26th to 30th: E— Josh Berhow (@Josh_Berhow) September 18, 2018
The winner of the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup will be one and the same.
Reactions to the new “head start” for the Tour Championship leader were swift, with complaints from media members and fans alike flooding social media after the announcement. Here’s a sampling:
They ruined Tour Championship cuz their stupid fedex pts make no sense. 100% stupidity.
— Jamie Kutzer (@jamiekutzer) September 18, 2018
The Tour Championship is no longer a tournament. It's a FedEx Cup finale. If you can get your brain around that radical change, you can embrace this. I love clarity coming to the FedEx Cup finish, with not having to be an MIT professor to figure out how points would decide it.
— Randall Mell (@RandallMellGC) September 18, 2018
Def the under the radar news that the Tour Championship is no longer a tournament, had quite the legacy on @PGATOUR feels kinda odd that this year is the “farewell” https://t.co/wEZkQhjwjn
— George Savaricas (@GeorgeSavaricas) September 18, 2018
Here's the problem: as a golf fan, I DON'T CARE about the FedEx Cup. I watch to see who wins each week. Seeing who can win a contrived playoff system, has no appeal to me. And now the tiered start makes the reason I watch less interesting. https://t.co/MFAffUe2jw
— Troy Blamer (@TroyBlamer) September 18, 2018
FedEx Cup prize pool will increase to $60 million next year, with the winner taking home $15 million.
Nice step up from this year’s minimum wage and bonus set of steak knives.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) September 18, 2018
Totally get that. You put your finger — your middle finger, perhaps? — on the problem with a postseason concept in golf, especially calling it "The Playoffs." These aren't playoffs. A lot of appeal has simply been getting the greatest players to compete in four events in a row. https://t.co/7K1Ul7o0re
— Randall Mell (@RandallMellGC) September 18, 2018
Dumb. How can it be considered a win if someone starts ten under? It’s like spotting a team a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
— Evan Jones (@edj_ct) September 18, 2018
Stupid, contrived BS. Make it match play format or leave it as is. This will do absolutely nothing to attract non-golf fans and real golf fans take it as stupid, contrived BS.
— Murph (@wjmurph08) September 18, 2018
— Michael Todd (@mtodd412) September 18, 2018
It's terrible and too contrived and shouldn't count as a proper tournament Victory. Should have proper playoffs whereby all points reset and if u finish in the top 100, 70, 30 you progress.
— Jaiman Patel (@jpatel341) September 18, 2018
