Defending FedEx Cup Champion Patrick Cantlay ‘Not a Fan’ of the Tour Championship Scoring System

Recently crowned as the winner of the 2022 BMW Championship, Patrick Cantlay has expressed his frustrations with the current scoring system for the season-ending Tour Championship.

What has Patrick Cantlay said regarding the scoring system?

The 30-year-old has his reservations about the system but didn’t want to be too harsh on the PGA. “Yeah, I’ve talked before about it,” he said when asked about the method. “I’m not a fan. I think there’s got to be a better system, although frankly I don’t know what that better system is.”

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The American golfer, ranked 5th in the FedEx Cup rankings, became the first player to defend a PGA Tour playoff title after successfully scoring a 14-under par to fend off any challenge from compatriot Scott Stallings. He remains the reigning FedEx Cup champion, having won it in 2021, and will look to repeat the performance after securing a berth for this weekend’s Tour Championship.

For the unversed, the season-ending FedEx Tour Championships are held along the lines of 3 successive events – The St. Jude Championship, the BMW Championship, and the upcoming Tour Championship.

After every event, a few players are eliminated, leading to the top 30 players contesting in the final event played at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, since 2004. The winner of the terminal event on the PGA calendar will receive an eye-watering $18 million, up by $3 million from last season.

What’s the problem with the current system?

For the final event of the season, the 30-man field will have starting scores relative to their FedEx Cup ranking. For example, the outright leader in the rankings, Scottie Scheffler, will begin proceedings at the event with a score of 10-under par. Likewise, players at the bottom will start with a normal, level par.

The current system has been criticized in the past, with players and analysts calling out for a better method to crown the best player of a particular golf season. The points allocation for the playoff events has also been under scrutiny.

A regular PGA event winner takes home 500 FedEx Cup points, while a Major Championship secures 600. However, the winner of the three season-ending competitions will be awarded an enormous 2,000 FedEx points each.

The change in rankings was visible when American golfer Will Zalatoris’ position soared after winning the St. Jude Championship, the first of the playoff events. The 26-year-old was merely 124 points off Scottie Scheffler, who has had a tremendous campaign this season. Zalatoris has since withdrawn from the remainder of the season after suffering an injury and will be out of contention for the Presidents Cup as well.

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