Date: August 20-24, 2025
Tour: PGA
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Course: East Lake Golf Club
For More Information: TOUR Championship Official Website
Buy Tickets for The TOUR Championship
StubHub - Tickets for The TOUR Championship
About the Tournament
The TOUR Championship is the grand finale of the PGA TOUR season and serves as the culmination of the FedExCup Playoffs. It brings together the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings to compete for the season's most prestigious prize. This event determines the FedExCup champion, who is awarded one of the richest purses in professional golf, currently valued at $18 million.
What sets The TOUR Championship apart is its unique scoring format. The FedExCup points accumulated throughout the season are reset before the event, with players assigned starting strokes based on their standings. The player ranked first starts at 10-under par, while those ranked lower have progressively fewer strokes under par. This format creates a dramatic finish and ensures that every player in the field has a shot at winning the FedExCup title.
Held annually in late August or early September, The TOUR Championship is known for its high-stakes drama, elite field, and exciting finishes, making it one of the most highly anticipated tournaments in the golf calendar.
About the Course
The TOUR Championship is hosted at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. East Lake is steeped in history, serving as the home course of legendary golfer Bobby Jones, one of the game's all-time greats. Opened in 1904, East Lake Golf Club is not only famous for its historical significance but also for its challenging layout, which demands precision and skill from the world’s best players.
Designed by Donald Ross in 1913, the course underwent significant renovations in the 1990s, bringing it back to its former glory. It stretches over 7,300 yards and is known for its strategic bunkering, tricky greens, and tight fairways. The course’s signature holes, such as the par-3 6th hole with a green surrounded by water and the risk-reward par-5 18th, offer thrilling challenges that can decide the tournament's outcome.
East Lake’s parkland-style layout features Bermuda grass, which makes for firm and fast playing conditions, especially in the late summer heat of Atlanta. The course's closing stretch, particularly the 18th hole, has witnessed numerous memorable moments and playoff-deciding birdies or bogeys over the years.
Charitable Impact
The TOUR Championship and East Lake Golf Club are deeply committed to philanthropy, particularly through the East Lake Foundation. The Foundation, established in 1995, focuses on community revitalization and has been instrumental in transforming the once struggling East Lake neighborhood into a vibrant community with affordable housing, quality education, and a range of social services.
Proceeds from the TOUR Championship directly benefit the East Lake Foundation, as well as other local charities. The tournament has raised over $38 million for various charitable causes since its inception, making a significant positive impact on the lives of thousands of families in the Atlanta area. The tournament's "Play It Forward" initiative further emphasizes the importance of giving back, encouraging players, sponsors, and fans to contribute to the community in meaningful ways.
Education is a key focus for the Foundation, with the Charles R. Drew Charter School serving as a cornerstone of their efforts. Through the Foundation’s efforts, the East Lake community has become a national model for neighborhood revitalization, and the TOUR Championship plays a crucial role in supporting these charitable endeavors each year.
Competitors
The TOUR Championship features an elite field, limited to the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings. These players have earned their spot by accumulating points over the course of the PGA TOUR season and in the two preceding FedExCup Playoff events, the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship.
This select field ensures that only the best of the best compete for the FedExCup title. Past champions like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Justin Thomas have solidified their legacies with victories at East Lake. Each player in the field has already had a successful season, but only one will emerge as the season-long champion, adding their name to the list of golf’s elite.
Because of the staggered-start format, players are seeded based on their standings, which affects how they begin the tournament. The top-ranked player starts with a 10-under par advantage, while the player ranked 30th starts at even par. This system rewards consistency throughout the season while also ensuring that the tournament itself is a thrilling competition from start to finish.
Players are motivated not only by the massive financial rewards but also by the prestige of being named FedExCup champion, which is often regarded as the culmination of a season’s worth of hard work, perseverance, and excellence on the golf course.
Tournament History
The TOUR Championship was first played in 1987 under the name "The Nabisco Championship." At its inception, the tournament was designed to bring together the top 30 players from the PGA TOUR's money list. Since then, it has evolved into the FedExCup Playoff finale, a shift that occurred in 2007 with the introduction of the FedExCup points system.
Over the years, The TOUR Championship has seen many memorable moments. In 2018, Tiger Woods’ remarkable return to form culminated in his victory at East Lake, his 80th PGA TOUR win, sending the golf world into a frenzy. Rory McIlroy has also been a standout performer in the tournament’s history, winning the event multiple times and cementing his place among the FedExCup greats.
The tournament’s format has also undergone changes to ensure that the FedExCup champion is crowned based on both season-long consistency and performance in the final event. Before 2019, the tournament and FedExCup titles were awarded separately. However, the current staggered-start format has simplified the event, ensuring that the winner of The TOUR Championship is also the FedExCup champion.
This unique format, combined with the tournament's rich history, high stakes, and tradition of thrilling finishes, makes The TOUR Championship one of the most exciting and prestigious events in golf.