PGA Tour Championship 2022 starting strokes: Explaining the year-end tournament's handicap system

The 2022 PGA Tour season has wound down to just 29 golfers remaining as they head to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Throughout the season, golfers have accumulated points based on their placement in tournaments, and those point totals have been exponentially increased during the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship.

Those points now take on their final significance. Along with narrowing the field down to the final 29 golfers (since Will Zalatoris had to pull out with a back injury), each one will earn a handicap heading into the Tour Championship that will help them with a bit of a head start in the tournament.

Here's a look at how the starting strokes work for the Tour Championship.

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PGA Tour Championship starting strokes

Racking up the points early provides a major boon for golfers heading into the Tour Championship. The golfers with the most points earn handicaps that send them to the Tour Championship.

The golfer with the most points heading into the Tour Championship begins the tournament at 10 under par, while second is 8 under and third is 7 under. The handicaps continue to go down through the field.

Here's a look at the full handicap system:

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FedEx Cup playoff standings

The current top three players in the FedEx Cup playoff field entering the Tour Championship are Scottie Scheffler, who won the most PGA Tour events in the 2021-22 season, with Patrick Cantlay, the BMW Championship winner, in second, and Will Zalatoris, the FedEx Jude Championship winner, in third. Zalatoris had to pull out of the Tour Championship due to injury. 

Here is the full breakdown of points and the associated starting stroke for each golfer in the field. Zalatoris' withdrawal will not affect other players' starting strokes.