Scottie Scheffler hits out at ‘silly’ PGA Tour rule but Rory McIlroy loves it as Fedex Cup play-offs begin
Scottie Scheffler has undoubtedly been the best player on the PGA Tour this season – but he’s still at risk of missing out on FedEx Cup glory once again.
Olympic champion Scheffler has won six big events on tour this year, including The Masters and The Players, and holds a huge lead in the Fedex Cup standings.
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But giving the unique nature of the play-offs, Scheffler still has his work cut out to secure his first season-long trophy.
The year-ending Tour Championship at East Lake is coming up soon and, as per the format, Scheffler has started the last two editions of the event with a 10-under advantage, two shots better than anyone else.
But he has squandered those leads on both occasions – to Rory McIlroy in 2022 and Viktor Hovland last August.
Scheffler will now hope to showcase his recent dominance over the next three weeks and finally claim the Fedex Cup.
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"I talked about it the last few years, I think it's silly," Scheffler said, ahead of the opening play-off event at the FedEx St Jude Championship in Tennessee this week.
"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."
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“It's a fun tournament. I don't really consider it the season-long race like I think the way it's called. But you've got to figure out a way to strike a balance between it being a good TV product and it still being a season-long race.
“Right now, I don't know exactly how the ratings are or anything like that, but I know for a fact you can't really quite call it the season-long race when it comes down to one stroke play tournament on the same golf course each year."
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Top 10 in FedEx Cup standings
- Scottie Scheffler - 5,993 points
- Xander Schauffele - 4,057 points
- Rory McIlroy - 2,545 points
- Collin Morikawa - 2,456 points
- Wyndham Clark - 2,154 points
- Ludvig Aberg - 2,092 points
- Sahith Theegala - 2,037 points
- Hideki Matsuyama - 1,899 points
- Sungjae Im - 1,883 points
- Shane Lowry - 1,867 points
While Scheffler isn’t happy with the current format, his rival players love it and will be gunning to take him down over the next three weeks.
McIlroy is already a three-time Fedex Cup winner and has also won at East Lake on three occasions.
He said: "I love this format because if it wasn't this format, then none of us would have a chance against Scottie because he's so far ahead.
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"He's so far ahead, and you don't expect Scottie to finish outside the top five, either.
"But the way, I think it makes the Tour Championship more exciting from a consumer standpoint.
"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."
McIlroy added: "The first year that it was the starting strokes at Tour Championship in 2019, I was able to win that one, and then in '22 again.
"I like this format. It sort of feels like it's a bit of a reset after the regular season.
"Everyone is not quite on a level playing field, but it feels a little more like that."
talkSPORT 2 will have live coverage of the FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind throughout the week.
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