Don’t know what to make of the scoring system at the season-ending Tour Championship? That’s ok, seems like the 30 golfers that are entered into the event, which begins Thursday, are puzzled by it as well.
It is the first year for the format, which rewards players based on how high up the FedEx Cup Standings they are. The No. 1 player, Justin Thomas, will start the event at -10 under. That means golfers 26-30 start the event 10 strokes behind Thomas.
Golfer                                     FedEx Rank                       Starting Score
Justin Thomas                 1                                          -10
Patrick Cantlay                2                      -8
Brooks Koepka                3                      -7
Patrick Reed                  4                       -6
Rory McIlroy                  5                       -5
Jon Rahm                    6                       -4
Matt Kuchar                  7                       -4
Xander Schauffele             8                       -4
Webb Simpson                9                       -4
Abraham Ancer               10                      -4
Gary Woodland               11                       -3
Tony Finau                  12                       -3
Adam Scott                  13                       -3
Dustin Johnson               14                       -3
Hideki Matsuyama            15                       -3
Paul Casey                  16                        -2
Justin Rose                  17                       -2
Brandt Snedeker              18                       -2
Rickie Fowler                19                       -2
Kevin Kisner                 20                       -2
Marc Leishman               21                       -1
Tommy Fleetwood            22                       -1
Corey Conners               23                        -1
Sungjae Im                  24                        -1
Chez Reavie                 25                        -1
Bryson DeChambeau          26                        E
Louis Oosthuizen             27                        E
Charles Howell IIIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 28Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â E
Lucas Glover                29                         E
Jason Kokrak               30                         E
Lucas Glover is the 29th ranked golfer. He begins the tournament in a big hole, starting at even par to Thomas’ 10-under.
“It will be interesting,†Glover said. “You’ve got to make birdies regardless. I’ve just got to make 10 more than usual.â€
Inaugural Year for System
This is the first year for the scoring system for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and like Glover, players aren’t sure what to make of it. Patrick Cantlay, who is No. 2 on the list and starts at 8-under par, He told reporters on Sunday that he is going to treat it like a normal tournament.
“I’m not really, I haven’t done it before so I don’t know what to expect,†Cantlay said. “So, I’m just going to go out and have a good game plan for the golf course and stick to that and let the chips fall where they do.â€
The FedEx Cup Playoffs has already had one change that the pros didn’t seem to mind. Last year there were three tournaments in the playoffs leading up to the Tour Championship. This year, there were only two.
As a result, golfers had one less tournament to try and get to the season-ending event. Some of the notable players that didn’t qualify for this week were Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, and Jim Furyk.
Your 2018 Champion is not Tiger
Tiger Woods, who was the defending champion, missed out on trying to repeat by 12 spots, after a tie for 37th last week at the BMW Championship.
Had the new scoring system been in place Woods would not have won. With the scoring system Woods would have began the 2018 Tour Championship at 2-under par, based on his No. 20 ranking going into that event.
Without the format Woods won by two shots over Billy Horschel. With the system he would have finished second to Justin Rose. Rose was the No. 2 ranked golfer and would have began the first round at 8-under par.
