Starting strokes removed at Tour Championship

Scottie Scheffler won the Tour Championship in 2024

The PGA Tour has scrapped starting strokes at the season-ending Tour Championship.

Since 2019 the format allowed the player with the most FedExCup points to start the tournament on 10 under par.

But in a change for this year's event, all 30 players will tee off at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on level par.

The FedExCup is a season-long points competition which culminates with the play-offs - three tournaments that end with the Tour Championship.

It provides players with a ranking, which under the previous format would mean they started the final event with a scoring advantage, depending on their position.

The player in second would start on eight under, third on seven under, fourth on six under and fifth on five under.

The remaining 25 players would be split into groups of five and given their starting score based off their rank.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement: "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."

Other changes include a new course set-up "to encourage more risk/reward moments", and the PGA Tour said it was "studying the qualification system" for the future.

Scottie Scheffler won the Tour Championship last year, finishing four shots ahead of Colin Morikawa in second.

American Scheffler called the FedEx Cup's play-off format "silly" last year.

The world number one said in a statement on the changes: "Shifting the Tour Championship to a more straight-up format with a tougher course set-up makes it easier for fans to follow and provides a more challenging test for players, which brings out the best competition."