Justin Thomas faces ‘weird’ test of leading from front at FedEx Cup
It is quite a feat for a $15m prize, hiked by $5m from previous years, not to be the main topic of discussion at the Tour Championship. A switch of format, as the PGA Tour seeks a fairer and simpler conclusion to its FedEx Cup, has dominated the buildup at East Lake. A 30man field are about to step into uncharted territory.
In linking the sport’s most illustrious names to the domain of amateurs, a handicap system has been implemented. The leading points scorer in the FedEx Cup, Justin Thomas, begins the season-ending event on Thursday at 10 under par and holding a two-shot advantage over Patrick Cantlay. Five players starting out at even par complete the field.
Unlike before, when the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup were separate, and complicated, entities, the winner walks off with the biggest bounty in golf.
Thomas said his scenario was “weird”. “I’m just going to have to try to play another tournament and act like everyone’s starting at zero and try to shoot the lowest 72 holes,” he said. “I know if I do that then I should be OK.
“We changed it because we thought it was for the better but like anything you don’t really know for a couple years where you see what happens. It could be for the better, hopefully it’s for the better. We think it would be or else we wouldn’t have changed it.”
Thomas rejected the notion that the pot of gold at the end of this particular rainbow was in his thoughts. “Money has never driven me,” he said. “I hope it never will. I play to win trophies, win championships, be the best player to ever walk the planet and that’s all I play for.”
Rory McIlroy, who is five shots adrift of Thomas before a ball is struck, is similarly unsure whether this innovation is altogether valid. He won $10m in the FedEx Cup’s previously volatile form, whereby a complex points table – that changed hole by hole – determined the outcome. Players could see their exact positions via leaderboards but the public struggled to comprehend the detail.
“The field right now is spread by 10 shots,” McIlroy said. “That could theoretically go down to six shots by the start of the second day depending on how everyone plays. So that’s probably my favourite thing about it.
“Then again, you could shoot the best score of the week and not win. If that happens to someone it’s going to be hard for them to wrap their head around.
“We just had a breakfast with some of the sponsors and what I said to them was: ‘If we’re at the PGA Tour trying to do the season of championships, where it starts at the Players in March, goes through the four majors and culminates with the FedEx Cup, if the FedEx Cup really wants to have this legacy in the game like some of these other championships do, is people starting the tournament on different numbers the best way to do it?’ That’s my only thing.
“I know it’s definitely a simplified version and format and people will understand it better. I think it gives more guys a chance to win this week. If you look at it just from that lens it probably is better this way.”
McIlroy also said the huge prize on offer had presented him with a dilemma. “It’s definitely a thought that came into my head, how can we make ourselves more relatable to the fans?” he said. “And having $15m front and centre isn’t probably the best way to do it.
“But at the same time, if you turn on Sports Center, you turn on any other shows, you’re looking at football players and baseball players, basketball players getting $150m over four years. So it’s front and centre over there and it’s guaranteed. This isn’t guaranteed for us, you’ve got to play to earn it.”
McIlroy raised a smile when the question of the pace of play was put to him. The European Tour released an action plan on Monday that barely registered with its most high-profile member.
“I only read the headline,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t go deeper into it. I’ve had enough of the slow-play stuff.” Join the club, Rory.