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It’s been close to 20 years since the PGA Tour adopted its first-ever playoff system in the form of the FedEx Cup. That format has undergone some significant changes since it was first introduced, but we could soon be treated to the most drastic tweak to date courtesy of a revamped approach to determining who ends up being crowned the champion.
The PGA Tour kicked off its inaugural season all the way back in 1929, and while golfers on the circuit were theoretically rewarded for consistent play with the prize money up for grabs at each tournament, there wasn’t any concrete incentive to outplay your peers over the course of the year.
However, that changed in 2007 when the PGA Tour rolled out a postseason by introducing the FedEx Cup, which harnesses a regular season points system that’s used to determine who earns the right to compete in the playoff tournaments that boast a gradually decreasing field until a champion is crowned.
As things currently stand, the FedEx Cup features three tournaments—the FedEx St. Jude Championship, BMW Championship, and Tour Championship—that respectively feature the top 70, 50, and 30 golfers competing in stroke play.
The players who’ve earned more points over the course of the season are given an edge over the rest of the field in that final event with a tiered “starting strokes” system that gives them the chance to start as low as -10, but it’s a pretty straightforward four days of golf aside from that.
However, according to The Athletic, some major changes could be coming to the FedEx Cup as early as this season, as the outlet cites sources who say the PGA Tour is toying with the possibility of adopting a bracket-based system that would pit golfers head-to-head in their quest for the trophy (and the $18 million that comes with winning it).
As things currently stand, the PGA Tour is reportedly considering both stroke play and match play to determine who advances to the next stage of the bracket. It may also end up using FedEx Cup points to determine which golfers are able to earn a bye, but it’s unclear if that pivot would impact the starting strokes format that may or may not be retained.
It does seem like the FedEx Cup would benefit from a dramatic overhaul like this one, as the Tour Championship hasn’t come close to matching the prestige of the four major tournaments as it nears the 20th anniversary of its inception.
The PGA Tour also needs all the help it can get as it continues to deal with the fallout of its ongoing battle with LIV Golf, so it’ll be very interesting to see how this ends up playing out.