Report: PGA Tour in 'Advanced' Talks on Bracket-Style Format for Tour Championship

The PGA's Tour Championship format is getting a facelift.

Gabby Herzig of The Athletic reported that the association may shift towards a "bracket-style format with head-to-head play" to determine the yearly champion and that the change could be instituted as soon as "this year."

"The sources, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the tour is eyeing a bracket-style format with head-to-head play — a structure familiar to most sports fans because of the NCAA basketball tournaments and College Football Playoff," Herzig wrote. "Both stroke play and match play are being discussed as options, with the possibility of players earning a "bye" based on their FedExCup points heading into the season finale.

Herzig reported that if changes were to be enacted for 2025, it wouldn't change the 30-man field or the tournament dates, which are set for Aug. 21-24 in Atlanta, Georgia. However, adjustments could be made to those aspects of the playoff down the line.

The current playoff begins a few weeks earlier at the St. Jude Championship, where the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings qualify. That group is wilted down to 50 for the BMW Championship and then 30 for the Tour Championship.

In the final tournament, the players are assigned a starting score based on their ranking and then compete in an otherwise normal tournament that also does not have a cut line.

A bracket-style format would allow for match play and could potentially help the PGA add some extra stakes to one of its tentpole events.