The PGA TOUR is undergoing a slew of changes amid the LIV Golf existential crisis. While the TGL begins in January and hopes to bring fans to a new-age golf product, they are tinkering with their traditional schedule, too. Scottie Scheffler won the TOUR Championship last season in an event without much drama. Now, the TOUR Championship could be headed to a bracket format, per The Athletic's Gabby Herzig.

“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 reported.

She continued saying that both stroke play and match play are being discussed, as well as byes for players at the top of the FedEx Cup Standings. A match-play bracket is familiar to golf fans, as the Dell Match Play was a calendar staple for years. A stroke play bracket would be a little clunkier but might be easier for newer golf fans to understand.

The biggest issue with match play for the Tour Championship is the best players are not guaranteed to play on Sunday. That is the key reason why cuts were eliminated from the PGA Tour's signature events series.

The 2024 Tour Championship proved why a new format is needed

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Scottie Scheffler had a historic 2024 season and won his third-straight Player of the Year trophy in the process. The Tour Championship was one of nine worldwide wins he had last season. But he struggled down the stretch and leaned on the two-shot lead he started the tournament with to secure the victory. There should have been more drama than there was.

A bracket format with byes would give the players a deserved bye through the first round. Herzig says that the 30-man field and late-August timeline will not be changing. So that gives the top two FedEx Cup scorers a first-round bye. The other 28 players will play in the first round, setting up a 16-player second round. This is a more effective way to decide the Tour Championship.

Herzig also reports that even more changes could be coming to the Tour Championship in upcoming years. That could mean more players, a new course, or a different time of year. Late August in Atlanta, even at a new-look East Lake Golf Club, could certainly be improved on moving forward.