The final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship was far more interesting than first anticipated, with Hideki Matsuyama coughing up a big lead on the back nine, Viktor Hovland contending for the first time in months, Nick Dunlap fighting his way into the signature events ... and Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler lurking.
Matsuyama eventually prevailed to take the first of three FedEx Cup playoff events, Hovland showed form that has been missing, Dunlap—who was winning the U.S. Amateur a year ago—held firm with the big boys and Schauffele closed the gap a bit on Scheffler in the FedEx Cup standings.
MORE: Final payouts from the FedEx St. Jude Championship
Scheffler’s lead is such that Schauffele would need to win this week’s BMW Championship while finishing way down the list to be overtaken heading to the final event at the Tour Championship.
But even a victory on Sunday for Scheffler would not really have helped much in the overall big picture of trying to earn the $25 million bonus that goes to the winner of the “seasonlong” points race, a point that the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking called out this week when he described it as “silly.”
Scheffler is all but certain to head to Atlanta and the Tour Championship in a week as the points leader, which earns him ... a two-shot lead in the staggered strokes format used for the final event that will dole out $100 million in bonus money to 30 players.
“I talked about it the last few years. I think it's silly,” Scheffler said. “You can't call it a seasonlong 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 (where he had a neck issue but still won), I finish 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament? Is that really the seasonlong race?”
No, and the fact that the Tour calls it that doesn’t help—although this is nothing new.
Even before the change to the current staggered-strokes format at the Tour Championship was enacted in 2019, the format called for a reset of points at the end of the BMW Championship.
That meant that a player could win every tournament and still have only a slight advantage at the last tournament. It was done to create drama, allowing for every player in the field to, in theory, have an opportunity to win the FedEx Cup.
It’s golf’s version of the playoffs—except the best of the best don’t get eliminated as they often do in team sports. Think of Rory McIlroy, who finished tied for 68th out of 70 players. In a team sport playoff where all are starting over, he would be done. But he’s given credit for what he’s done all year—and then in Atlanta, not so much.
“It's a fun tournament. I don't really consider it the seasonlong race like I think the way it's called,” Scheffler said. “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 seasonlong 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 seasonlong race when it comes down to one stroke-play tournament on the same golf course each year.”
While nobody is going to feel sorry for anyone making it to East Lake, the bonus disparity is a reason to call attention to Scheffler’s concerns. The difference between first and second is $12.5 million and it drops down to $1,750,000 for 10th place.
Again, nobody is feeling bad for these guys, but one bad round or two can mean quite a difference at the last event.
The Comcast Business Top 10 is one way to reward players for what they did during the season to perhaps take some of the sting out of the disparity during the playoffs. Scheffler won the top prize of $8 million for being first in points through the Wyndham Championship. Schauffele got $6 million with payouts going through 10th position.
There are typically all kinds of ways presented to change the system. Have all who qualify for the Tour Championship start at the same score and play for it, with more money front-loaded; return to the previous system of having a tournament winner and a FedEx Cup winner; add up all the strokes through three events while keeping individual tournament titles. There are definitely ways to do it if this isn’t satisfying, none of which appear imminent.
“Is it the fairest reflection of who's been the best player of the year? Probably not,” said McIlroy, who dropped to fifth in the standings despite a poor week in Memphis. “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.”
Jordan Spieth faces surgery
Jordan Spieth’s uncomfortable 2024 season came to an end with an early-morning start to the final round of the FedEx St. Jude, where he shot a final-round 72 to finish in a tie for 68th place, beating just one player in the 70-man field at TPC Southwind. (He tied with Rory McIlroy and Max Homa finished last.)
Spieth has said several times that the wrist injury that has been giving him problems for more than a year does not cause pain when he hits shots, and has not used it as an excuse.
But he also wondered if—subconsciously—it’s causing him to alter his swing.
Something is certainly amiss as Spieth did not have a top-10 finish since a tie for 10th at the Valero Texas Open the week prior to the Masters. He had just three top 10s all season, his best a third at the Sentry in January.
Spieth’s ECU (extensor carpi ulnaris), a tendon in his left wrist, regularly pops out, he said. It has gotten more pronounced in recent weeks.
At the Wyndham Championship, Spieth said he’s been seeking medical opinions.
“It's not hurting, but subconsciously it's hard not to look at the numbers and think this isn't a coincidence,” he said. “I've been taking trips out as well as being in contact with a lot of doctors, getting it scanned again and trying to figure out what the next move is. Probably going to have to do something about it this offseason.”
The offseason for Spieth is now and he told the Associated Press after his round that surgery is imminent.
“I've got to have it operated on ASAP, and then I'll go through the process of what I'm supposed to do from there,” he said.
“I think there’s some clarity in getting it done. There’s also some uncertainty, and so it’s a little scary. But also, if I can learn to find some patience—which I’m not very good at doing—then I think I could come back stronger.”
Because Spieth is not in the top 50 in FedEx Cup points, he will not automatically qualify for the 2025 signature events. He played in all eight this year, and he is proof that it is not a guarantee you will be back. He had just a single top 10, the third-place finish at the Sentry, and was only inside the top 30 one other time.
It also did not help Spieth that he missed the cut at the Players and the Masters and did not contend at the other three majors.
When healthy, he will undoubtedly get some sponsor invites to the signature events, most notably Pebble Beach, where his sponsor AT&T sponsors the tournament.
Next year will mark 10 years since Spieth’s win-win-fourth-second run in the 2015 major championships.
LIV Golf and relegation
The LIV Golf League is down to one individual event following Brooks Koepka’s playoff victory over Jon Rahm on Sunday at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, where Rahm also moved ahead of Joaquin Niemann for the seasonlong individual player points lead. (The winner receives $18 million with second place getting $7 million).
MORE: Final payouts from LIV Golf Greenbrier
But a good bit of the attention will now be devoted to the bottom of the standings as there is just one event left to avoid LIV’s “relegation zone,” which means getting demoted and having to play in the league’s “Promotions Event” in order to get a spot for 2025.
What is unclear is if contracted players—in addition to captains—are exempt from being demoted. LIV does not disclose contract terms including lengths, so it is impossible to know for sure unless they say so before the final individual event next month outside of Chicago.
A player who finishes among the top 24 in points is in the “lock zone” and is assured of a place next year.
Those players who finish 25 through 48 are in what is called the “open zone” and need one of LIV’s 13 teams to make a deal with them.
Those below 48 are subject to relegation, except for captains. So Bubba Watson, who is 52nd in points, is safe.
But Harold Varner III (47) and Pat Perez (48) are seemingly vulnerable. Scott Vincent, Branden Grace, Laurie Canter, Watson, Kalle Samooja, Kierna Vincent, Hudson Swafford and Anthony Kim hold the next spots.
Canter was a reserve player and no longer competing with LIV Golf. Swafford and Kim were wildcards so not necessarily subject to relegation.
The LIV Chicago event is Sept. 13-15 followed by the Team Championship the following week in Dallas, Sept 20-22.
High praise ... and other notes
A year ago at this time, Nick Dunlap was winning the U.S. Amateur. He wasn’t back to defend last week because not only did he win a PGA Tour event in January, he parlayed that into what has been a very successful first year as a pro.
Despite not getting to keep any FedEx Cup points (or prize money) for his American Express Championship win, Dunlap, 20, managed to earn his way into the BMW Championship next week with a tie for eighth at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. That means he will be eligible for all eight of the signature events next year and still has a chance to qualify for the Tour Championship.
His win opposite the British Open at the Barracuda Championship did not come with an automatic Masters invite.
At 36th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Dunlap is all but assured of being in the Masters with an opportunity to qualify for the other majors.
“He's talented across the board,” said Scottie Scheffler, who played with Dunlap on Saturday. “He hits it nice. He putts it really good. He's got a good short game, as well. He's got all the tools to be a great player out here, and you've obviously seen that so far this year with both of his wins. Yeah, he came out ready to play, and he's got all the talent in the world, and yeah, I think we're going to be seeing him for a long time.”
And a few more things
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Scottie Scheffler’s Seasonlong Dominance Means Little in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
