It’s no secret that the format for the PGA Tour’s final event of the season has caused mixed reactions over the years, with viewers and golf fans unsure whether it’s a good, and fair, system of deciding the winner.
Going into the Tour Championship at East Lake, we see a staggered start whereby the FedEx Cup points’ leader after the first two playoff events begins with a score of 10-under. From there, the player in second starts at eight-under, the third at seven-under, the fourth at six-under, the fifth at five-under, 6th-10th at four-under,11th-15th at three-under, 16th-20th at two-under, 21st-25th at one-under and 26th-30th at even par.
The staggered system is designed and aims to reward players for their performance over the season and, with World No.1 Scottie Scheffler sitting at the top, you could argue that it is serving its purpose.
However, going into the weekend at East Lake Golf Club, the two-time Major winner is four clear of Collin Morikawa and five shots clear of nearest FedEx Cup challenger, Xander Schauffele. What’s more, Scheffler is nine shots clear of a three-way tie for fourth, meaning that, going into the weekend, the winner is likely going to come from the top three.
So, if the staggered system wasn’t in place, how would the Tour Championship leaderboard look? Would it, in fact, be closer and would Scheffler be leading? Well, below, we have provided you with the current leaderboard and the leaderboard without the staggered start, to see how it stacks up.
Current Tour Championship Leaderboard
| Player | Starting Score | Current Score | Rounds (Par 71) | Position |
| Scottie Scheffler | -10 | -21 | 65, 66 | 1st |
| Collin Morikawa | -4 | -17 | 66, 63 | 2nd |
| Xander Schauffele | -8 | -16 | 70, 64 | 3rd |
| Sahith Theegala | -3 | -12 | 67, 66 | T4th |
| Wyndham Clark | -4 | -12 | 67, 67 | Row 5 – Cell 4 |
| Adam Scott | -3 | -12 | 66, 67 | Row 6 – Cell 4 |
| Sam Burns | -4 | -11 | 67, 68 | 7th |
| Tony Finau | -3 | -9 | 70, 66 | T8th |
| Hideki Matsuyama | -7 | -9 | 70, 70 | Row 9 – Cell 4 |
| Ludvig Aberg | -5 | -8 | 71, 68 | T10th |
| Sungjae Im | -3 | -8 | 69, 68 | Row 11 – Cell 4 |
| Rory McIlroy | -4 | -8 | 69, 69 | Row 12 – Cell 4 |
| Taylor Pendrith | -1 | -8 | 66, 69 | Row 13 – Cell 4 |
| Shane Lowry | -3 | -7 | 69, 69 | T14th |
| Matthieu Pavon | -1 | -7 | 67, 69 | Row 15 – Cell 4 |
| Justin Thomas | E | -7 | 66, 69 | Row 16 – Cell 4 |
| Patrick Cantlay | -4 | -7 | 69, 70 | Row 17 – Cell 4 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | -1 | -6 | 70, 67 | T18th |
| Aaron Rai | E | -6 | 66, 70 | Row 19 – Cell 4 |
| Russell Henley | -2 | -6 | 67, 71 | Row 20 – Cell 4 |
| Akshay Bhatia | -2 | -5 | 70, 69 | T21st |
| Tom Hoge | E | -5 | 69, 68 | Row 22 – Cell 4 |
| Sepp Straka | -1 | -5 | 68, 70 | Row 23 – Cell 4 |
| Keegan Bradley | -6 | -5 | 69, 74 | Row 24 – Cell 4 |
| Byeong Hun An | -2 | -4 | 69, 71 | T25th |
| Robert MacIntyre | -2 | -4 | 69, 71 | Row… |
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