Scottie Scheffler comes in hot, in multiple ways, as playoffs start

Every year, as the FedEx St. Jude Championship approaches, golfers are asked about the PGA Tour’s format for the FedEx Cup playoffs, and each year, players like Scottie Scheffler voice their desire for changes. Given Scheffler’s outstanding performance this season, which includes wins at prestigious events such as the Masters and The Players Championship, his critiques are garnering more attention than ever.

 

Despite these criticisms, substantial changes to the playoff format have not yet been implemented. This year, the playoff structure will reduce the field from 70 to 50 and then to 30 players over the course of the next three weeks. The first event in this series is the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which begins on Thursday at TPC Southwind in Memphis.

 

To provide a quick refresher: the final stage of the FedEx Cup playoffs is the Tour Championship, which features the top 30 players in FedEx Cup points. The format for this event includes a staggered-scoring start. Currently, Scottie Scheffler is slated to begin the Tour Championship with a two-shot lead over Xander Schauffele, even though Scheffler has accumulated nearly 2,000 more points throughout the season.

 

Scheffler has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with this format. “Yeah, I mean, I talked about it the last few years. I think it’s silly,” Scheffler said. “You can’t call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament. Hypothetically, we get to the Tour Championship and my neck flares up and it doesn’t heal the way it did at The Players, I finish 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament? Is that really the season-long race? No. It is what it is.”

 

Despite this critique, Scheffler is entering the St. Jude Championship with confidence following his recent Olympic gold medal win at Le Golf National in Paris, which adds to his impressive achievements at just 28 years old.

 

However, not all players are in such a favorable position. Several big names are anxiously working to secure their spots in the top 50 to advance to the BMW Championship next week. Among them is Jordan Spieth, who is currently ranked No. 63 in FedEx Cup points and has had a disappointing season. Another notable player under pressure is Viktor Hovland, the defending FedEx Cup champion, who finds himself in 57th place in the standings.

 

Hovland is focused on his performance rather than the rankings. “I try not to think about my FedEx rank or all that stuff so much this week,” Hovland said. “I’ve obviously been vocal about me not playing very well this year, so that’s kind of what I’m focusing on, just trying to get the horse back on the track and work on the things that I need to work on to play good golf, and then all the other stuff, that will work out if I take care of that stuff.”

 

The PGA Tour has designated the FedEx St. Jude Championship as the first leg of the playoffs since 2022. The sweltering mid-August conditions in Tennessee often lead to unexpected results. The past three years have seen each event in this leg require a playoff to determine the winner. For example, in 2023, Lucas Glover emerged as the champion, earning 2,000 FedEx Cup points and significantly improving his standings. Glover had only qualified for last year’s playoffs by winning the Wyndham Championship the week prior. This year, Aaron Rai, the Wyndham winner, begins the week ranked 25th in FedEx Cup points.

 

Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy, currently third in the standings, has had a strong season despite not securing a major championship win. McIlroy plans to leverage his experience as a three-time FedEx Cup champion to finish the season on a high note. “I think when the bulk of the season has come and gone and you’ve got this opportunity of three weeks to really, I guess, flip the script a little bit or change the narrative on what that season means, I think that’s a motivating factor, and part of the reason that I’ve probably played well in the playoffs for the last three years,” McIlroy said.

 

With the FedEx St. Jude Championship set to begin, players are gearing up for what promises to be a compelling start to the playoffs, with many hoping to make significant moves in the standings and make the most of the opportunities presented by the final stretch of the PGA Tour season.