Play at the 2025 Tour Championship begins tomorrow at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia with a new format to determine the winner. This years event will be played like a normal tour event, where every player will begin at even par and there will be no points or staggered scoring. Players will begin the tournament with pairings based on FedEx Cup points for the season and the winner of the 72-hole, stroke play event will be declared the FedEx Cup champion.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 27: Viktor Hovland of Norway plays a shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on August 27, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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Scheffler/McIlroy Pairing
The number one and two ranked players will be the last tee time out on Thursday as Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are not only one and two in the official world golf rankings, but also in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup points system.
With Scheffler injured to start the season, McIlroy came out of the gates this season guns a blazing. With wins at Pebble Beach, the Players Championship and of course the Grand Slam capping Masters victory, McIlroy looked poised to challenge Sheffler as the world’s top player. However, since his Masters victory, McIlroy has cooled off considerably from the torrid pace he began the season with.
Scottie Scheffler on the other hand, began the season slowly(by his standards) coming off a hand injury, but since the last week of March, he has not finished outside the top 10. With five wins in that time period, he has not only clearly established himself as the best player in the game, but has in fact widened the gap that McIlroy had closed at the beginning of the year in the world golf rankings system.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 28: Scottie Scheffler of the United States congratulates Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland on the 18th green after McIlroy won during the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on August 28, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
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These two do have history at East Lake Golf Club. In 2022, McIlroy started the final round six shots behind Scheffler, but eventually caught the current world number one to take home the FedEx Cup title and its $18 million dollar purse. Scheffler will undoubtedly be looking for revenge this week.
Ryder Cup Ramifications
With captain’s picks for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black looming for next week, players on the bubble will be jockeying for a possible captain’s pick if they perform well this week.
Three days after the Tour Championship, United States Captain Keegan Bradley will make his six captains picks. With Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Ben Griffin seemingly locks to make the team, there are 3 spots at most up for grabs.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 13: Keegan Bradley of the United States speaks to the media prior to the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 13, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
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Could captain Keegan Bradley pick himself for the team and become the first playing captain in the modern era of the Ryder Cup, when the entire continent of Europe was added to the event?
Since winning the Travelers Championship, Bradley has not been in top form, but a T17 finish last week at the BMW Championship may have him trending in the right direction.
Others still in the running for captains picks include Maverick McNealy, Cameron Young, Chris Gotterup, Patrick Cantlay, Brian Harman and Sam Burns. A winning week by any of these players would probably lock up a spot on the Ryder Cup team.
While the American team is still very much unsettled, it seems like the European squad is ready to basically run it back with their team from Italy that handled the United States team with ease. Eleven of the twelve players on captain Luke Donald’s team seem to be in place with the final spot up for grabs.
Harry Hall is in the field at the FedEx Cup championship and has been playing some great golf as of late. Could he make a push for the championship and the final spot on the European Ryder Cup team this week?
NICHOLASVILLE, KENTUCKY – JULY 14: Harry Hall of England reacts after chipping in for a birdie on the ninth green during the third playoff hole during the final round of the Kentucky Championship at Keene Trace Golf Club on July 14, 2024 in Nicholasville, Kentucky. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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Mike is a founding member of Break80 Golf and a contributing golf writer for Forbes with PGA Tour and LIV Golf media credentials. He can be found on social media platforms @short_sided_golf
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikefore/2025/08/20/2025-tour-championship-preview-storylines-to-watch-for/
