Scottie Scheffler is aiming for his third FedEx Cup title as leader
Scheffler led the FedEx Cup three years in a row before the Tour Championship in East Lake. The first two times, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland were able to thwart him.
Scottie Scheffler on playing with Xander Schauffele
Scottie Scheffler speaks to reporters after the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Thursday in Memphis.
Scottie Scheffler is yet to achieve another success in golf.
He has won several major championships.
He won a Players Championship.
He has won the PGA Tour Player of the Year award twice in a row.
And he won Olympic gold.
But there is still one thing on Scheffler’s to-do list: winning the FedEx Cup championship.
For the third year in a row, Scheffler heads into this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta with pole position in the FedEx Cup points standings, and first place. He was the regular-season points leader and defended that position after finishing 33rd at last week’s BMW Championship and finishing in sole possession of fourth at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
But Scheffler has never won at East Lake.
In 2022, his raw score was 10 under par, and if you count the 10 “starting strokes” under par that you get first on the scorecard, he is 20 under par. But Rory McIlroy, who was seventh in the points standings and entered the tournament at 4 under par, was nine strokes ahead of Scheffler at 17 under par over the weekend.
Last year, Scheffler was two shots ahead of Viktor Hovland heading to East Lake. But a three-under-par weekend condemned Scheffler to a tied sixth place, and Hovland shot 11 under par in those rounds to beat Xander Schauffele by five.
Scheffler must also overcome his loss at East Lake to Schauffele, the second-leading points scorer and his main rival this season, who has made heavy use of the spot. Schauffele won the 2017 Tour Championship and has never finished worse than tied for seventh in seven starts. He has two solo runner-up finishes (2019 and 2023) and one tied for second (2020).
Schauffele’s career point average at East Lake is 66.89.
What are “starting strokes”?
The PGA Tour assigns players a certain number of strokes under par to complete before the Tour Championship. This number is based on their ranking in the points list after the previous week’s BMW Championship. Players are rewarded for their ranking, but the team also has a chance to win the overall shooting match.
This is what the starting strokes for East Lake look like:
- Scheffler 10 under par.
- Schauffele 8 under par.
- Hideki Mastuyama 7 under par.
- Keegan Bradley 6 under par.
- Ludvig Åberg 5 under par.
- McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Patrick Cantlay 4 under par.
- Sungjae Im, Saith Theegala, Shane Lowry, Adam Scott, Tony Finau 3-under.
- Byeong Hun An, Hovland, Russell Henley, Akshay Bhatia, Robert McIntyre 2 under par.
- Billy Horschel, Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Mathieu Pavon, Taylor Pendrith 1 under par.
- Chris Kirk, Tom Hoge, Aaron Rai, Christaan Bezuidenhout and even Justin Thomas.
PGA Tour: Season ends lucratively in ATL
Event: Tour Championship, Thursday-Sunday, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta.
What is the handbag? $75 million ($18 million for the winner).
Who won last year? Viktor Hovland beat Xander Schauffele by five strokes in the adjusted stroke format. Both had a raw score of 261 strokes (19 under par), with Schauffele shooting a 62 in the final round.
How to watch on TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 1-6 p.m.; Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon-2:30 p.m.).
Registered players from the region (FedEx Cup ranking): Billy Hoerschel (21).
Noteworthy: The final event of the 2024 PGA Tour season will decide the FedEx Cup Championship, with Scheffler holding a two-shot lead over Schauffele before the tournament begins as he comes to East Lake first on the points list for the third consecutive year. … Hovland had a six-shot lead going into the final round and Schauffele cut it to three with birdies on seven of his first 12 holes. Hovland made birdies on the final three holes to hold on. … East Lake has been renovated and will play to 7,455 yards and a par of 71. The downhill 14th Hole is now a par 5. … The PGA Tour has announced an expanded partnership with Coca-Cola, the primary sponsor of the Tour Championship, for the 2027 FedEx Cup schedule. The new agreement will see Coca-Cola brands such as Powerade, BODYARMOR and smartwater increased visibility at Tour events, including digital activations showcasing every hole-in-one throughout the calendar year.
LPGA Tour: New event brings golf back to TPC Boston
Event: FM Championship, Thursday-Sunday, TPC Boston.
What is the handbag? $3.8 million ($570,000 for the winner).
Who won last year? Event in the first year.
How to watch on TV: Peacock (Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m.); Golf Channel (Saturday-Sunday, 7:00-9:00 p.m.).
Registered players from the region: Austin Kim.
Noteworthy: The tournament returns to the site that hosted PGA Tour events from 2003 to 2020. TPC Boston also hosted FedEx Cup playoff events from 2007 to 2020. … Winners have included Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler. … Leading the field are Celine Boutier, Jin Young Ko, Alisen Corpuz, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson.
What are the (golf) odds?
Tour Championship: Scheffler is the favorite in the playoffs for the third week in a row with +105 from Hard Rock Bet. Schauffele follows with +230, followed by Hideki Matsuyama (+1000), Ludvig Aberg (+1600) and Rory McIlroy (+2000). Horschel and Mathieu Pavon from France have the best chances with +20000.
FM Championship: Jeeno Thitikul (+900), Jin Young Ko (+1400), Zhang (+1750).
