It’s Year 5 of the current FedEx Cup playoff format and here is what we know:
Rory McIlroy likes it.
Jon Rahm hates it.
Xander Schauffele admits there is confusion.
That about covers all angles, right?
The starting stroke model attempted to eliminate the confusion regarding the point standings and the myriad of ever-changing scenarios that dominated the Tour Championship almost by the minute to determine the playoff winner. And lLest we forget about the dreaded split winners, when one player won the Tour Championship and another won the FedEx Cup.
As it has been for the past five years, players have a given score entering the tournament. Scottie Scheffler will start at 10-under par in Thursday’s first round as the points leader. The stroke advantage increases throughout the field with the last five golfers, Nos. 26-30, starting at even par. From there, the golfer with the lowest score after four rounds wins both the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup, which carries an $18 million first-place prize this year.
Jon Rahm acknowledged that the new format is easier to understand. However …
“I don’t think it’s the best we can come up with,” he said. “I think I’ve expressed my dislike towards the fact that you can come in ranked No. 1 in the FedExCup. You can win every single tournament up until this one. You have a bad week, you finish 30th, and now you’ll forever be known as 30th in the FedExCup this season. I don’t think that’s very fair.”
While not statistician, Rahm has his own view of the numbers in the stroke model.
“When you’re in fifth place you are, what, 5-under, so you’re five shots from the lead. But you’re also five shots from 30th place,” he said. “So that to me just doesn’t make much sense.”
Rory McIlroy has won two of the four FedEx Cup titles under the current format. Last season, he started the Tour Championship in seventh place. In 2019, he was fifth. Patrick Cantlay and Dustin Johnson were each first going into the Tour Championship and held on to win in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
“I do like it this way,” said McIlroy, who has won three titles. “I think it gives the guys that have had the better years an advantage going into the week, which I think they should have.
“If anything, like, Scottie this year, he probably should have more of an advantage than a two-shot lead. But it makes it an exciting week, you know, if guys feel like they have a chance to win. Of all the iterations of the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup playoffs, I think this is the best one yet. I can’t sit here and say that I’ve thought of something better at this point. I’m sure if it needs to be addressed in the future, it will, but I think it works pretty well right now.”
Xander Schauffele has been on both sides of the issue. He won the Tour Championship in 2017 but did not win the FedEx Cup. That went to Justin Thomas, who finished second in the tournament.
“I still believe that when I talk to some friends and people they still feel like a little confused on how it all happens,” Schauffele said. “I think this is supposed to be like our most important event all year. It kind of comes down to this moment. And, like, for people to be like a little bit confused, it’s still not a finished product to me in that sense.”
Scheffler has been spotted a two-stroke advantage last year and this year. Last year, he was caught and passed by McIlory for the title.
“I wouldn’t say that it is the best format to identify the best golfer for the year,” Scheffler said. “Jon Rahm played some of the best golf of anybody this year and he’s coming into this tournament fourth and he’s four shots back. And, in theory, he could have won 20 times this year and he would only have a two-shot lead. …
“It’s made for TV. It’s more, it may be more exciting for the fans to have this type of format. But as players, I think it’s not the best identifier of who is playing the best throughout the year. But with that being said, I’m starting this week with a two-shot lead and, I mean, I’m not complaining about it.”
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