PGA Tour 2023, FedEx Cup ledaerboard, Tour Championship, spherical one tee occasions, format defined, prize cash, beginning scores, Jason Day

The PGA Tour’s prime participant for the season can be determined at East Lake this weekend with the Tour Championship, the place the winner may even take dwelling a staggering A$26m prize.

Jason Day is the lone Australian within the subject, making his first journey again to the FedEx Cup Playoffs finale since 2018.

Ranked twenty fifth within the FedEx Cup standings, Day will begin the handicapped, $75million (A$116m) Tour Championship at one-under, 9 pictures behind chief and world No.1 Scottie Scheffler.

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Scheffler topped the season factors race and thus earned a two-stroke lead over his nearest rival, Viktor Hovland, for the 30-player showdown, beginning Friday morning (AEST).

However regardless of the benefit, Scheffler was amongst those that joined Jon Rahm in saying there should be a greater strategy to decide the season’s greatest participant than the handicap format — which is defined beneath.

“I wouldn’t say it’s one of the best format to establish one of the best golfer for the yr,” stated Scheffler, who’s chasing a primary FedEx Cup title together with Rahm.

“I imply, I get it. It’s made for TV. It might be extra thrilling for the followers to have this kind of format. However as gamers it’s not one of the best identifier of who’s taking part in one of the best all year long.”

Final week’s playoff winner at Olympia Fields, Hovland, is the closest starter to Scheffler at 8-under.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy opens on 7-under, Masters champion Rahm on 6-under and Memphis playoff winner Lucas Glover on 5-under with others gaining strokes based mostly on season factors.

The occasion winner is season champion, not like the prior format, scrapped after 2018, the place the factors chief may lose the occasion however take the playoff crown.

“I don’t assume it’s one of the best we are able to provide you with,” Rahm stated. “I did just like the previous format the place, when you got here in primary, you actually not often ever fell out of the highest three.

“I assumed that was just a little bit higher.”

The Spaniard sees it because the “best to know” format however one which falls quick.

“It feels prefer it’s greater than only one week. It’s a end result of a complete yr,” Rahm stated. “So it has just a little little bit of a special particular really feel to it.”

Scheffler was overtaken in final yr’s closing spherical by three-time FedEx Cup winner McIlroy, who’s proud of the established order.

“I definitely see the reasoning of making an attempt to have all of it one competitors and never having ‘two’ winners. I do prefer it this fashion,” McIlroy stated. “It offers the blokes which have had the higher years a bonus going into the week, which I feel they need to have.

“If something, Scottie this yr, he in all probability ought to have extra of a bonus than a two-shot lead. However it makes it an thrilling week if guys really feel like they’ve an opportunity to win.”

PGA Tour insider Dan Rapaport provided up an alternate format to the Tour Championship, suggesting it ought to begin as a stroke play occasion earlier than altering to a match-play elimination.

He stated the occasion ought to begin as is in order that the yr’s greatest gamers are rewarded, earlier than a midway lower units the sphere for 2 days of match play that determine the title.

“Merely making match play on the Tour Championship would change into an accomplishment for the resume,” Rapaport stated. “Folks would say, ‘Oh, this man has made match play three of the previous 4 years’.

“A single elimination event for $18 million (USD) … we are able to all get behind that.

“The FedEx Cup would then have a robust identification as not simply the richest event however the match play event. Let’s make it occur.”

TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP — HOW IT WORKS

As for the way it at present works, the FedEx Cup standings after the BMW Championship units the beginning scores for the top-30 gamers who qualify.

First place stands alone on the entrance of the sphere at 10-under, and the remaining 29 gamers need to catch him from scores ranging between eight-under (second-place) and even-par (locations 26-30).

The participant who finishes with the bottom rating on the finish of 4 rounds wins the Tour Championship and the season’s FedEx Cup.

In different phrases, a participant can take the fewest quantity of strokes to finish 4 rounds at East Lake, however not win the Tour Championship given they could not have overcome the deficit to a participant who began with a much bigger handicap.

The format was launched to get rid of the confusion of getting separate Tour Championship and FedEx Cup winners.

For instance, in 2018 Tiger Woods gained the Tour Championship and largely overshadowed the season triumph of Justin Rose.

Tour Championship handicap system based mostly on FedEx Cup factors