PGA Tour Championship 2022 starting strokes: Explaining the year-end tournament’s handicap system
The 2022 PGA Tour season has come to an end with just 29 golfers heading to Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club.
Throughout the season, golfers have accumulated points based on their placement in tournaments, and that total has increased exponentially during the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship.
These points are now given their ultimate meaning. As well as narrowing the field down to the final 29 golfers (as Will Zlatoris retired with a back injury), each will receive a Tour Championship handicap that will give them a small head start in the tournament.
Here’s a look at how Tour Championship starting shots work.
MORE: FedEx Cup Playoffs Explained
PGA Tour Championship starting shots
Earning points early is a great boon to golfers entering the Tour championship. The golfers with the most points receive handicaps that send them to the Tour championship.
The golfer with the most points en route to the Tour championship starts the tournament on 10 under par, while second is 8 under and third is 7 under par. The handicaps continue down the field.
Here’s a look at the full handicap system:
| sowing | begin stroke |
|---|---|
| 1 | 10 under |
| 2 | 8 under |
| 3 | 7 under |
| 4 | 6 under |
| 5 | 5 under |
| 6-10 | 4 under |
| 11-15 | 3 under |
| 16-20 | 2 under |
| 21-25 | 1 under |
| 26-30 | par |
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FedEx Cup Playoff Ladder
The current top 3 players in the FedEx Cup Playoffs field to enter the Tour championship are Scottie Scheffler, who won the most PGA Tour events in the 2021-22 season, followed by Patrick Cantlay, the winner BMW Championship, in second place; and Will Zalatoris, winner of the FedEx Jude Championship, third. Zulatoris was forced to withdraw from the Tour Championship due to injury.
Here’s the full breakdown of the points and associated starting shot for each golfer in the field. Zatoris’ retreat will not affect other players’ starting shots.
| rank | golfer | Points | begin stroke |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scottie Scheffler | 4206 | 10 under |
| 2 | Patrick Cantley | 4129 | 8 under |
| 3 | Will Zalatoris | 3680 | N / A |
| 4 | Xander Schauffele | 2825 | 6 under |
| 5 | Sam Burns | 2605 | 5 under |
| 6 | CameronSmith | 2548 | 4 under |
| 7 | Rory McIlroy | 2414 | 4 under |
| 8th | Tony Finau | 2376 | 4 under |
| 9 | Sepp Straka | 2224 | 4 under |
| 10 | Sunjae Im | 2201 | 4 under |
| 11 | Jon Rahm | 2108 | 3 under |
| 12 | Scott Stallings | 2052 | 3 under |
| 13 | JustinThomas | 2025 | 3 under |
| 14 | Cameron Young | 1997 | 3 under |
| fifteen | Matt Fitzpatrick | 1980 | 3 under |
| 16 | Max Homa | 1818 | 2 under |
| 17 | Hideki Matsuyama | 1765 | 2 under |
| 18 | Jordan Spieth | 1750 | 2 under |
| 19 | Joaquin Niemann | 1750 | 2 under |
| 20 | Victor Howland | 1535 | 2 under |
| 21 | Collin Morikawa | 1481 | 1 under |
| 22 | Billy Horschel | 1471 | 1 under |
| 23 | Tom Höge | 1459 | 1 under |
| 24 | Corey Conners | 1454 | 1 under |
| 25 | Brian Harman | 1412 | 1 under |
| 26 | KH Lee | 1406 | par |
| 27 | JT Poston | 1368 | par |
| 28 | Sahith Teagala | 1307 | par |
| 29 | Adam Scott | 1299 | par |
| 30 | Aaron Wise | 1241 | par |