Joe McConnell
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler questioned the “silly” format of the FedExCup playoffs and whether it’s the right way to determine the PGA Tour’s season-long winner.
Only the top 70 finishers in the season standings will qualify for the FedEx St Jude Championship, the first of three FedExCup playoffs and live starting Thursday Vscek Golfwith the top 50 progressing to the BMW Championship the following week.
The top 30 then qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake, where the FedExCup leader begins the week at 10 under and a starting-stroke system based on the player’s ranking is used.
Scheffler has finished atop the Tour Championship standings the past two seasons, but has failed to win the FedExCup, losing to Rory McIlroy on the final day of 2022 before Viktor Hovland finished atop last season.
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Highlights from the fourth round of the 2023 Tour Championship, where Viktor Hovland led the season standings.
“I think it’s stupid,” Scheffler said before the FedEx St. Jude Championship. “You can’t call it a season-long race and have it be a tournament.
“Hypothetically we get to East Lake and my neck gets inflamed and doesn’t heal like it did at The Players, I finish 30th in the FedExCup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament? Is this really the race of a season? No. It is what it is.
“It’s a fun tournament. I don’t really think of it as a season-long competition, as I think it’s called. But you have to find a way to strike a balance between being a good TV product and still being a season-long competition.
“I don’t know exactly what the rankings are or anything like that right now, but I do know that it’s not really a season-long competition when it’s a stroke-play tournament on the same golf course every year.”
Scheffler enters the playoffs with a clear lead atop the FedExCup standings over Xander Schauffele and McIlroy, aiming for a record-tying fourth FedExCup title after winning six times on the PGA Tour in 2024, in addition to his spectacular Olympic success.
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Rory McIlroy is ready to commit to finishing his PGA Tour season on a high after missing the U.S. Open, and he explains exactly what he’ll need to do to make it happen.
Quadruple points on offer in the first two playoff events could change Scheffler’s position heading into the Tour Championship, with the defending Masters champion insisting he will look to the season with a positive attitude even if he fails to win the FedExCup for a third straight year.
“I try not to think too much about tournament results, and I won’t look back on my season any differently if I don’t win East Lake,” Scheffler added. “I’ll show up there, do my best.
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Watch Scottie Scheffler’s final-round story at the Masters, where he secured the Green Jacket for the second time in three years
“I was No. 1 the last two years before the tournament. I went into 2022 with a great chance to win and I couldn’t do it, and last year I played really bad pretty much the whole week.
“I had some tough situations there and I’m looking forward to the challenge of going back there and playing at the top again. We’ll see what happens. Those guys might catch up to me in the next couple of weeks. But I’m looking forward to being able to fend them off and go to East Lake at the top.”
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McIlroy Sees Positives in FedExCup Format
McIlroy won the 2016 FedExCup with a Tour Championship win under the old format, in which the tournament and season-long standings were two separate prizes, then became the first winner under the new system in 2019 before earning a record third FedExCup victory in 2022.
“I love this format because if it wasn’t for this, none of us would have a chance against Scottie because he’s so far ahead,” McIlroy said. “I think it makes the Tour Championship more exciting from a consumer standpoint.
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The best of the action from the final round of the 2022 Tour Championship, where Rory McIlroy prevailed in a final battle with Scottie Scheffler.
“Is that the fairest reflection of who was the best player of the year? Probably not. But I think we’re not being completely fair at this point, we’re all about entertainment and trying to put out the best product we can.
“Yeah, the first year it was tee shots at the Tour Championship in 2019, I was able to win that, and then again in ’22. I like the format. It feels a little bit like a reset after the regular season. Not everyone is exactly on the same page, but it feels a little bit more like that.”
Watch the FedEx St Jude Championship live from Thursday at 1.15pm on Vscek+ and at 5pm on Vscek GolfVscek+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, the NOW streaming service and the Vscek app, giving Vscek customers access to over 50 percent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
