(Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail)
TOUR Championship 2025: East Lake Set for Winner-Take-All Challenge
ATLANTA – East Lake Golf Club has undergone a striking transformation in recent years, and this week it will host the TOUR Championship under a brand-new winner-take-all format. The season finale of the FedExCup is set to deliver a tougher test, with longer rough, faster greens, and strategic hole locations designed to push the world’s top 30 golfers to their limits.
The 2024 restoration by architect Andrew Green marked a return to the historic Donald Ross design, adding variety and complexity to East Lake. Now, with another year of maturity, the course is ready to challenge players in ways never seen before.
New Format, New Pressure
Unlike past years, every player in the 30-man field starts on equal footing. The TOUR Championship winner will also lift the FedExCup, giving golf fans a straightforward, high-stakes showdown.
“Once you get to the TOUR Championship, you’ve had a great season,” said defending FedExCup champion Scottie Scheffler. “But you have to play your best golf at the right time.”
The move away from a staggered scoring format also comes in response to calls from fans and players who wanted to see traditional scoring and winning totals closer to par.
A More Demanding East Lake
The restored East Lake features greens carved into sections with steep slopes and swales, demanding precision with iron shots. Recovery is no longer uniform; players may face tight lies, steep run-offs, or tricky pitches instead of predictable bunker play.
“The greens have incredibly unique shapes with squared-off corners and plateaus,” Green explained. “It allows for a much wider variety of hole locations.”
Key setup changes this year include:
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Par reduced to 70: The 14th hole converted from a par 5 to a par 4.
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Longer tests: The ninth hole can stretch to 260 yards, and the island-green 15th will play nearly 230 yards from the back tee.
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Risk-reward moments: A drivable eighth hole and hole locations tucked near hazards encourage bold shot-making.
Course setup officials say the more receptive, matured greens now allow them to place pins in tighter spots without creating unfair conditions. “If you want a short birdie putt, you’ll have to take on the challenge,” said Gary Young, PGA TOUR’s senior VP of Rules & Competition.
A True Season Finale
From the restored greens to the new format, the TOUR Championship is now positioned as a true final exam for the FedExCup season. With every player starting from scratch and East Lake ready to punish mistakes, golf fans can expect drama, risk-reward golf, and a winning score that feels worthy of the game’s ultimate prize.
“Everyone’s starting fresh,” Young added. “So let’s turn up the setup and see who delivers under pressure.”
