Scottie Scheffler, currently the favorite to win the FedEx Cup Playoffs, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the PGA TOUR’s end-of-season format. Despite his position as the world’s No. 1 ranked player, Scheffler is critical of how the season-long competition culminates in a single tournament.
“I talked about it the last few years. I think it’s silly,” Scheffler remarked on Wednesday, as reported by Dan Rapaport of Barstool Sports.
He questioned the fairness of the format, citing the potential impact of injuries. “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.”
Scheffler has had a dominant season, securing six victories, including wins at the Masters and The Players Championship. He enters the playoffs with a significant lead in points accumulated throughout the season.
The playoff structure allows the top 70 players on the points list to qualify, with the field narrowing over three events leading to the TOUR Championship at East Lake, where only 30 players remain in contention for the title.
The TOUR has implemented a staggered leaderboard for the finale to give an advantage to players at the top of the standings. However, Scheffler remains unconvinced that this setup provides a fair conclusion to the season.
“It’s a fun tournament,” he acknowledged. “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 a season-long race when it comes down to one stroke-play tournament on the same golf course each year.”
Last season, Scheffler finished tied for sixth at East Lake despite starting the tournament in the top position.
