Scottie Scheffler Thinks The FedEx Cup Playoffs Are ‘Silly’
Scottie Scheffler, despite Xander Schauffele's remarkable major season, is still the world number one in men's professional golf. He's also the runaway leader in FexEx Cup points as the playoffs start this weekend. As such, he enjoys some advantages when it comes to the PGA Tour's end of season tournaments, including a potential multi-shot advantage in the third and final weekend.
And he still thinks they're silly.
Scheffler spoke at a news conference this week at TPC Southwind in Memphis and said he doesn't like the playoff format, relative to how the tour markets it.
"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 East Lake 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."
Scottie Scheffler of Team United States putts on the 18th green during the men's individual stroke play final round at Le Golf National during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Scottie Scheffler Has A Point About FedEx Cup Playoffs
A playoff format is somewhat antithetical to golf as a sport; there's no three-weekend tournament for any event on the PGA Tour. The idea of giving the leading points scorer a 10-shot lead has also been heavily criticized, since it effectively eliminates most of the field.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs were created to get the "best" players on tour together a few more times before the season "ends," while providing an opportunity for more lucrative sponsorship money. But it lacks the prestige, drama, and fan interest of the major tournaments.
Especially after the LIV Golf split removed a number of top contenders and big name players from the Tour Championship field.
The season-long race effectively boils down to giving the top player an advantage towards winning, but Scheffler's right that a playoff format to determine the year's best golf undermines how long and grueling the PGA Tour season really is.
Even Rory McIlroy, a three-time winner, admits as much. "I think it makes the Tour Championship more exciting from a consumer standpoint," McIlroy said. "Is it the fairest reflection of who's been the best player of the year? Probably not. But I think at this point we're not in for totally fair; we're in for entertainment and for trying to put on the best product we possibly can."
Through round two of the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Judge Championship, Scheffler sits in fourth, two shots off the lead. Maybe he'll enjoy the format a bit more if he's able to hold off the field and secure his first win in the playoffs.