Scottie Scheffler is still the world’s No. 1 player in men’s professional golf despite Xander Schauffele’s remarkable major season. He’s also the clear leader in FexEx Cup points when the playoffs begin this weekend, so he enjoys some advantages when it comes to the PGA Tour’s season-ending tournaments, including a potential multi-stroke lead in the third and final weekend.

And he still thinks she’s silly.

Scheffler spoke at a press conference this week at TPC Southwind in Memphis and said he doesn’t like the playoff format compared to the way the tour markets it.

“I’ve talked about it for the last few years, but I think it’s silly,” Scheffler said. “You can’t call it a season race and have it turn into a tournament.”

“Say we get to East Lake, my neck is burning and not healing like it did at the Players. I end up 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament? Is that really the race of the entire season? No, it is what it is.”

Scottie Scheffler of Team United States putts on the 18th green during the final round of men’s individual stroke play at Le Golf National during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. (Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Scottie Scheffler is right about the FedEx Cup playoffs

A playoff format is somewhat incompatible with golf. There is no three-weekend tournament for any PGA Tour event. The idea of ​​giving the leading scorer a 10-stroke lead has also been heavily criticized as 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 “end” of the season, while also giving them a chance to earn more lucrative sponsorship money, but they lack the prestige, drama and fan interest of the major tournaments.

This is especially true after the split of LIV Golf eliminated a number of top contenders and well-known players from the Tour Championship field.

This season-long race is essentially about giving the best player an edge in winning, but Scheffler is right when he says that a playoff format to determine the year’s best golfer challenges the length and grueling nature of the PGA Tour season.

Even Rory McIlroy, a three-time winner, admits as much. “I think it makes the Tour Championship more exciting from a consumer perspective,” McIlroy said. “Is it the fairest reflection of who the best player of the year was? Probably not. But I think at this point we’re not concerned with complete fairness; we’re concerned with entertainment and providing the best product possible.”

Entering the second round of the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Judge Championship, Scheffler sits in fourth place, two shots behind the leader. Perhaps he’ll enjoy the format a little more if he can keep the field at bay and secure his first playoff win.