Tommy Fleetwood defends the axed staggered start format at Tour Championship

Tommy Fleetwood has opened up about the change in the format of the Tour Championship. The PGA Tour has eliminated the starting strokes format of the event, which had been in place since 2019 until last season.

This year, the Tour Championship is being played in a stroke-play format. In the post-round press conference of the major tournament on Thursday, Fleetwood was asked about the format. The English golfer defended the staggered format and said, via ASAP Sports:

"I think people end up preferring what we've always had. It's like, grass isn't always greener. You know, I don't know. I think there's something to be said if you look in other sports, like shortening formats or speeding things up has always helped in other formats. It's always hard to do that in golf.

"Yeah, there's always going to be different ways to try -- I don't mind the staggered start to be honest. I thought it was fair in a way," he added.

The Tour Championship only features a limited field of 30 players in the FedEx standings after the BMW Championship. This year's event kicked off on Thursday, and after the first round, Russell Henley took the lead in the game.

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How has Tommy Fleetwood played in the opening round of the 2025 Tour Championship?

Tommy Fleetwood at PGA: TOUR Championship - First Round - Source: Imagn

Tommy Fleetwood started his campaign at the 2025 Tour Championship on the first tee. He made three consecutive birdies, giving him a good start to the tournament.

He added a birdie on the sixth, and then on the back nine, he scored three more birdies and a bogey for a round of 6-under 64. In the post-round press conference, Fleetwood talked about his performance. He said, via ASAP Sports:

"That I played well, that I putted well. I think the course was as forgiving as we're going to get it, but also -- actually probably the biggest takeaway is how good everyone is at golf that's here. I think the scoring is unbelievable.

"I'm sure we could talk about the fact that we had soft conditions and they were receptive, but you've still got to play, and you've still got to hit the shots."

Tommy Fleetwood settled in fourth position in the FedEx Cup standings and secured his position in the season-ending event. He had a close call for a win in the first two legs of the playoffs and continued the good game at the Tour Championship as well.

Fleetwood was tied for third at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and then T4 at the BMW Championship. After the opening round at the Tour Championship, he was tied for third place. The tournament will have its finale on Sunday, August 24.