Scottie Scheffler has experienced a series of notable firsts this year. Like win the Masters. And rise to No. 1 in the world. And now, he gets to know what it’s like to get strokes on the course.
As the top gun in FedEx Cup points, Scheffler is 10 under before he hits his first Tour Championship tee shot Thursday. In the unique staggered scoring system for this season-ending playoff event, that’s a 2-stroke advantage over the No. 2 in points, Patrick Cantlay, and as much as a 10-shot bulge over the last four players in the 29-player field.
So, exactly when was the last time he has gotten strokes?
“It’s been a while, yeah,” Scheffler said, laughing. “It’s nice being on this end of the strokes versus having to give them up to everybody, like I have to do at home.”
So, does he remember precisely the last time he’s enjoyed such largesse?
“I don’t think so. I’d have to really think. I can’t remember anything off the top of my head if I was ever the one getting strokes. I’m not going to give you a hard ‘no,’ but I can’t think of any off the top of my head,” he said.
Ever since 2019 when they instituted this staggered scoring in order to merge one tournament into a season-ending playoff finale it has been a distinct challenge for the points leader to handle the added expectation of a built-in lead.
Scheffler’s approach is uncomplicated enough: “I think what’s going to probably work best for me is to look at it like a four-day event and really ignore the starting strokes deal and kind of go out there and do my thing and see where it puts me at the end of four days.
“The starting strokes deal is a little bit weird. There might be a tiny bit of added pressure but I get two extra strokes, which is definitely nice. It’s definitely a position that I want to be in for sure.”
Spieth back again where he belongs
When at the beginning of his career Jordan Spieth made five straight Tour Championships, winning the FedEx Cup in 2015, it seemed as if he was a legacy guaranteed admission to this tournament.
No givens in golf, and as his game wandered so did he lose his standing invitation to East Lake. But for only the second time in the last five years, Spieth’s back. He is at the worst starting position of his career – coming in 20th in FedEx Cup points and beginning the event at 2-under, 8 back of Scheffler. But back nonetheless.
“Given my situation this week where I stand currently, I’m excited to go out there on one of my favorite tracks that we play all year and get started,” he said.
Spieth is ending a decent, if unspectacular season. He has one victory (the RBC Heritage) and a pair of runner-up finishes. He’d miss the cut at the Masters and make a T-8 in the British Open his best finish in the majors. It has been a mixed bag the last two month, with a couple top-10s and a missed up in the first playoff event in Memphis.
Overall, he proclaimed it a good season. “I struck the ball really well. I made some strides in that department. And I didn’t have my best putting year, but I’ve been stroking it really well as of late without kind of the results coming from it,” he said.
“I feel really good about the state of my game. It’s just is it going to be these four days or am I just going to continue to get better as we head into next year?
“I would have liked a little bit more consistency, but that just came down to making putts this year. I’ve put in a lot of work now over the last couple months on it and starting to see a lot of results on the practice green and quite a bit on the course, and hopefully it can make it rain this week.”
Beware the East Lake rough
Speaking of making it rain: In between pop-up showers, it may have hit you that it has been a semi-soggy summer in Atlanta. The grass at East Lake certainly has, and it’s loving it.
Always in tip-top shape for the Tour Championship, East Lake this week will be showing off a particularly lush side.
“It has been a cumulative thing, the course has not really dried out since June,” said East Lake’s Director of Agronomy Ralph Kepple. “It’s pretty wet going into the tournament.”
“I know the rough has enjoyed the rain,” said Kepple, speaking of the Bermuda thicket that has prospered this year. He advises players to avoid it at all costs.
There’s a give-and-take to all this moisture. Damp fairways mean the course will play a bit longer. Softer greens – and, said Kepple, “The greens will be softer than the last couple years,” – mean they will better hold approach shots, making them a dartboard for the world’s best.
“I thought Memphis (two weeks ago) was the best greens that we played all year, but this is going to give it a good run for its money,” Matthew Fitzpatrick said, complementing the East Lake putting surfaces.
The weather forecast for this week puts the greatest chance of more rain – around 60% – on Thursday and Friday, with a drier weekend.
