Notwithstanding his conviction that the earlier system, which gave the points leader an advantage over the competition, made sense, Rory McIlroy claims the redesigned conclusion to the FedExCup Playoffs offers a fresh start for everyone at the Tour Championship. Beginning Thursday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, the top 30 players on the FedExCup points leaderboard will compete for the season-long championship as well as a significant $10 million (£7.4 million) winner’s prize, live on Sky Sports Golf.
But in a significant departure from the method used since 2019, the FedExCup points leader going this week, now world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, will not have any upper hand over other players. Under the old setup, the points leader might start with a two-stroke lead over the second-place player in the standings and a ten-stroke benefit over the other participants.
This implies Scheffler, who has five tour wins this year and more points (3,769) than McIlroy has amassed (3,687) throughout the season, will start the competition level par. Regardless of the point rankings before the competition, the winner of the Tour Championship is also named the FedExCup champion.
“We’ve played this event and this golf course in a bunch of different formats. It has a different feel. Any one of the 30 has a chance to win the FedExCup this year, which is obviously a lot different than it’s been in previous years,” McIlroy said.
Meanwhile, at the Wyndham Championship, Cameron Young dominates to claim his first career PGA tour title.
He also added, “It’s a clean slate for everyone, and it’s a great opportunity for one of the guys who maybe wasn’t a huge part of the season.” Having won the FedEx Cup three times, in 2016, 2019, and 2022, McIlroy is the only player ever to have done so. He admits he was not among those against the old system, but he notes the shift has been made.
