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On Tuesday, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp unveiled the Tour's new plan for its year-end playoff system, scheduled to begin during the 2028 season.
For more than a decade, the Tour has modified and tweaked the way they have contested their season-ending FedEx playoffs, and the results have been mixed at best.
Even as an avid golf fan myself, I found the playoff system to be somewhat confusing and fairly tough to fully understand.
The points system used was so involved it required constant computer-updating to determine the current standings, even while tournaments were being contested. For viewers, it was hard to become invested in the outcome with all the uncertainty that was involved.
The new system announced on Tuesday is welcome relief.
The new playoff format will be much more straight-forward, with golfers earning ranking points throughout the regular season with a goal of finishing in the final top-32.
These 32 golfers will qualify for the playoffs and will compete in match-play format over two weekends in August to determine the overall season champion.
In addition to the simpler format, the PGA Tour also plans to rotate the year-end playoff sites to some of the most prestigious courses in the country, including Cypress Point and Pine Valley.
Though it's taken several years, I think the PGA Tour has finally gotten this right. The new playoff system will be easy to understand and will allow even casual sports fans to enjoy the action.
I'm looking forward to 2028 when this new playoff system is fully implemented.
Golf still rolling
Ever since COVID hit in 2020, the game of golf has enjoyed significant increases in participation all across the country.
That trend continues as the National Golf Foundation recently announced that rounds of golf have increased by 1.2% at the mid-point of this year (compared to the same time last year). These numbers are especially impressive considering that 2025 set a new all-time record for the number of rounds played at U.S. golf courses.
West Penn title
Last Thursday, Scotch Valley's David DeGol Jr. posted an impressive 2-over par 74 to earn a spot into the 2026 WPGA Mid-Amateur Championship scheduled for early September.
DeGol was among 68 golfers competing for 15 spots at the qualifying event held at Totteridge Golf Course in Greensburg last week. On Sept. 8, he will be among the field competing at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh for the 33rd annual WPGA Mid-Amateur Championship trophy.
110 Years Ago
During the fourth week of August in 1916, Altoona native Lawrence Canan was elected captain of the Harvard University golf team.
Canan would go on to lead the Harvard team to a top-four finish in golf's National Collegiate Tournament that year.
Upon graduation, he served as a pilot in World War I before returning home to Altoona and dominating local tournament play through the 1920s and 1930s.
Ken Love covers local golf for the Mirror. He can be reached at GLTR777@atlanticbb.net.