Tour Championship

This article is about the annual PGA golf tournament. For other uses, see Tour Championship (disambiguation).

Tour Championship

Tournament information
Location	Atlanta, Georgia
Established	1987
Course(s)	East Lake Golf Club
Par	70
Length	7,346 yards (6,717 m)
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Month played	August
Tournament record score
Aggregate	257 Tiger Woods (2007)
To par	−23 as above
Current champion
Viktor Hovland
Location Map
East Lake GC Location in the United States Show map of the United States East Lake GC Location in Georgia Show map of Georgia

The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 money leaders of the past PGA Tour season.

Starting in 2007, it was the final event of the four-tournament FedEx Cup Playoffs, with eligibility determined by FedEx Cup points accumulated throughout the season. From 2019 onward, the FedEx Cup was reduced to three events, and the Tour Championship is now held in late August rather than mid-September.

While originally followed by the PGA Tour Fall Series (for those competing for qualifying exemptions in the following season), a re-alignment of the PGA Tour's season schedule in 2013 made the Tour Championship the final event of the season.

From 1987 to 1996, several courses hosted the event. Beginning in 1997, the event alternated between Champions Golf Club in Houston and East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta; since 2004, East Lake has been the event's permanent home.

Format: 1987–2006

From its debut in 1987 through 2006, the top 30 money winners on the PGA Tour after the penultimate event qualified for the event. It took place in early November, the week after the comparable event in Europe, the Volvo Masters, which allowed players who are members of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour to play in both end of season events. After the Tour Championship, the money list for the season was finalized. There were a number of additional events between the Tour Championship and Christmas which were recognized by the PGA Tour, but prize money won in them was unofficial. Also, because this tournament's field was not as large as other golf tournaments, there was no 36-hole cut; all players who started the event were credited with making the cut and received some prize money.

Format: 2007–2018

Brandt Snedeker winning in 2012

Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson on the 17th green in 2015

Rory McIlroy during practice rounds in 2015

In 2007, the Tour Championship moved from November to mid-September, where it ended the four-tournament FedEx Cup Playoffs. As in past years, 30 players qualified for the event, but the basis for qualification was no longer prize money. Instead, FedEx Cup points accumulated during the regular PGA Tour season and then during the three preceding playoff events determined the participants. Beginning in 2009, the assignment and awarding of points assured that if any of the top five FedEx Cup point leaders entering The Tour Championship won the event, that player would also won the FedEx Cup. Therefore, it still remained possible for one player to win the Tour Championship and another player to win the FedEx Cup. For example, Tiger Woods won the 2018 Tour Championship but finished second in the FedEx Cup, while Justin Rose won the FedEx Cup despite finishing the tournament tied for fourth, because Woods entered the Tour Championship 20th in overall points while Rose was 2nd. ^{[1] [2]}

2007 was also the inaugural year for the Tour's Fall Series, which determined the rest of the top 125 players eligible for the following year's FedEx Cup, which made the event no longer the final tournament of the season. However, starting in 2013, the Tour Championship was the final tournament of the PGA Tour season; seasons begin in October of the previous calendar year. ^[3] Since 2007, those who qualified for the Tour Championship earned a Masters Tournament invitation. For 2020, players who qualify for the Tour Championship will be invited to the Sentry Tournament of Champions, a byproduct of tournament cancellations from the coronavirus pandemic.

Prior to 2016, hole 18 at East Lake Golf Club was a par 3, which had been criticized as lacking drama for fans. Starting in 2016, the PGA Tour reversed the nines at East Lake for the Tour Championship so that play now finishes on a more exciting par 5 hole. ^[4]

Format: 2019–present

Beginning in 2019, the tournament adopted a new format in order to ensure that the winner would also be the FedEx Cup champion. Using a method similar to the Gundersen method in Nordic combined, the player with the most FedEx Cup points leading into the tournament starts at 10 under par. The player with the second most points starts at −8, the third at −7, the fourth at -6, and the fifth at −5. Players ranked 6 through 10 begin at −4; 11 through 15 at −3; and so on, down to numbers 26 to 30 who will start at even par. ^{[5] [6]}

For purposes of the Official World Golf Ranking only aggregate scores are taken into account, disregarding any starting scores in relation to par. ^[7]

Calamity Jane trophy

The Calamity Jane is a sterling silver replica of Bobby Jones's original "Calamity Jane" putter, that has been presented to the winner of the Tour Championship since 2005. In 2017, it was made the official trophy for the tournament. ^{[8] [9]} Each winner before 2005 has been awarded one retroactively. ^[10]

Winner's exemption reward

From 1998 to 2018, the Tour Championship winner, if not already exempt by other means, received a 3-year PGA Tour exemption. Since 2019, the Tour Championship winner has been directly awarded the FedEx Cup and a 5-year PGA Tour exemption. ^[11]

Tournament hosts

Years	Venue	Location
1998, 2000, 2002, 2004–present	East Lake Golf Club	Atlanta, Georgia
1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003	Champions Golf Club, Cypress Creek Course	Houston, Texas
1995–96	Southern Hills Country Club	Tulsa, Oklahoma
1993–94	The Olympic Club, Lake Course	San Francisco, California
1991–92	Pinehurst Resort, No. 2 Course	Pinehurst, North Carolina
1989	Harbour Town Golf Links	Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
1988	Pebble Beach Golf Links	Pebble Beach, California
1987	Oak Hills Country Club	San Antonio, Texas

Winners

Year	Winner	To par [lower-alpha 1]	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Lowest gross [lower-alpha 2]
Tour Championship
2023	Viktor Hovland	−27 (−8)	5 strokes	Xander Schauffele	Viktor Hovland Xander Schauffele	261
2022	Rory McIlroy (3)	−21 (−4)	1 stroke	Im Sung-jae Scottie Scheffler	Rory McIlroy	263
2021	Patrick Cantlay	−21 (−10)	1 stroke	Jon Rahm	Kevin Na Jon Rahm	266
2020	Dustin Johnson	−21 (−10)	3 strokes	Xander Schauffele Justin Thomas	Xander Schauffele	265
2019	Rory McIlroy (2)	−18 (−5)	4 strokes	Xander Schauffele	Rory McIlroy	267

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Purse ($) [lower-alpha 3]	Winner's share ($)
Tour Championship
2018	Tiger Woods (3)	269	−11	2 strokes	Billy Horschel	9,000,000	1,620,000
2017	Xander Schauffele	268	−12	1 stroke	Justin Thomas	8,750,000	1,575,000
2016	Rory McIlroy	268	−12	Playoff	Kevin Chappell Ryan Moore	8,500,000	1,530,000
2015	Jordan Spieth	271	−9	4 strokes	Danny Lee Justin Rose Henrik Stenson	8,250,000	1,485,000
2014	Billy Horschel	269	−11	3 strokes	Jim Furyk Rory McIlroy	8,000,000	1,440,000
2013	Henrik Stenson	267	−13	3 strokes	Jordan Spieth Steve Stricker	8,000,000	1,440,000
2012	Brandt Snedeker	270	−10	3 strokes	Justin Rose	8,000,000	1,440,000
2011	Bill Haas	272	−8	Playoff	Hunter Mahan	8,000,000	1,440,000
The Tour Championship
2010	Jim Furyk	272	−8	1 stroke	Luke Donald	7,500,000	1,350,000
2009	Phil Mickelson (2)	271	−9	3 strokes	Tiger Woods	7,500,000	1,350,000
2008	Camilo Villegas	273	−7	Playoff	Sergio García	7,000,000	1,260,000
2007	Tiger Woods (2)	257	−23	8 strokes	Mark Calcavecchia Zach Johnson	7,000,000	1,260,000
2006	Adam Scott	269	−11	3 strokes	Jim Furyk	6,500,000	1,170,000
2005	Bart Bryant	263	−17	6 strokes	Tiger Woods	6,500,000	1,170,000
2004	Retief Goosen	269	−11	4 strokes	Tiger Woods	6,000,000	1,080,000
2003	Chad Campbell	268	−16	3 strokes	Charles Howell III	6,000,000	1,080,000
2002	Vijay Singh	268	−12	2 strokes	Charles Howell III	5,000,000	900,000
2001	Mike Weir	270	−14	1 stroke	Sergio García Ernie Els David Toms	5,000,000	900,000
2000	Phil Mickelson	267	−13	2 strokes	Tiger Woods	5,000,000	900,000
1999	Tiger Woods	269	−15	4 strokes	Davis Love III	5,000,000	900,000
1998	Hal Sutton	274	−6	Playoff	Vijay Singh	4,000,000	720,000
1997	David Duval	273	−11	1 stroke	Jim Furyk	4,000,000	720,000
1996	Tom Lehman	268	−12	6 strokes	Brad Faxon	3,000,000	540,000
1995	Billy Mayfair	280	E	3 strokes	Steve Elkington Corey Pavin	3,000,000	540,000
1994	Mark McCumber	274	−10	Playoff	Fuzzy Zoeller	3,000,000	540,000
1993	Jim Gallagher Jr.	277	−7	1 stroke	David Frost John Huston Greg Norman Scott Simpson	3,000,000	540,000
1992	Paul Azinger	276	−8	3 strokes	Lee Janzen Corey Pavin	2,000,000	360,000
1991	Craig Stadler	279	−5	Playoff	Russ Cochran	2,000,000	360,000
Nabisco Championship
1990	Jodie Mudd	273	−11	Playoff	Billy Mayfair	2,500,000	450,000
1989	Tom Kite	276	−8	Playoff	Payne Stewart	2,500,000	450,000
1988	Curtis Strange	279	−9	Playoff	Tom Kite	2,000,000	360,000
1987	Tom Watson	268	−12	2 strokes	Chip Beck	2,000,000	360,000

Notes

1. Since 2019, players have been allocated a starting score (relative to par) based on their position in the FedEx Cup standings. This is shown in parentheses.
2. With the change of format in 2019, OWGR points have been awarded based on the lowest total strokes for the tournament rather than the winning score relative to par.
3. From 1987–2018 the Tour Championship had its own purse. From 2019 the tournament no longer has its own prize fund, with prize money being distributed from the FedEx Cup bonus pool.

References

1. Morfit, Cameron. "FedExCup update: Rose heads into final round as projected No. 1". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
2. Dusek, David. "Justin Rose Rallies to DClaim FedEx Cup Crown, $10 Million Bonus". Golfweek. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
3. "PGA Tour announces changes". ESPN. March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
4. "East Lake Golf Club Front, Back Nines to be Reversed for Tour Championship by Coca-Cola". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
5. "PGA Tour making extreme changes to Tour Championship, FedEx Cup format in 2019". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
6. McAllister, Mike (September 18, 2018). "Simplicity the key with changes to FedExCup Playoffs finale". PGA Tour.
7. Hawkins, John (September 1, 2021). "How the PGA Tour Gutted Its Own Championship". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
8. "Awards". East Lake Golf Club.
9. "'Calamity Jane' now official trophy of the Tour Championship". Independent Sports News. August 9, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
10. "Calamity Jane Replica". PGA Tour.
11. "How it works: Tour Championship". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 19, 2019.

External links

• Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
• Tour Championship Overview and Past Results - Includes past winners and runners-up of tournament from 1987 to 2010
• East Lake Golf Club official site
• The FedEx Cup home page on the PGA Tour's official site

33°44′35″N84°18′11″W / 33.743°N 84.303°W / 33.743; -84.303