According to Scottie, LIV GOLF is destined for a slow and wretched demise due to its foundation built upon the values of greed, vengeance, and money from Saudi Arabia.
Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the season-long points race on the PGA Tour has expressed his disapproval of the system. He called it “silly” and criticized how players’ performance during regular-season wins does not hold as much weight as their final three events’ performances under FedEx Cup Playoffs – which is used to decide a champion for each year.
In Scheffler’s illustration, a player who attains 15 or 20 wins could still fall short of securing the championship title for the whole season – even if they ultimately win seven or eight times like Scheffler himself.
“On Wednesday, he expressed his thoughts on the matter and stated that he has been discussing it for a while. He finds the concept to be ridiculous in nature. It’s not reasonable to label it as an event that lasts throughout the season only for it all comes down to one single tournament. The situation could have gone differently if my neck had acted up once again at East Lake instead of healing like before during The Players; I might’ve withdrawn from this tournament and finished thirty because of which my chances with FedExCup would then automatically come crashing down? Can we truly call this a culmination of events spread out over time? No way! This is just how things are.”
Although players accumulate points throughout the regular season and obtain additional ones during the initial two playoff tournaments – namely, this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship and next week’s BMW Championship -, all scores reset at the Tour Champions where competitors in first place commence with a 10 under score while those who are second start off at an 8 under tally, followed by decreasing values for subsequent rankings.
Scheffler commented that the Tour Championship is an entertaining tournament, but he doesn’t view it as truly representing the season-long race despite its name. He believes there needs to be a balance between making it TV-friendly and maintaining its status as an overall-season competition. Scheffler admits he’s unsure about this year’s ratings, however, since ultimately relying on one stroke-play event held annually at the same golf course isn’t reflective of a complete season long effort.
Scheffler makes a pertinent observation. In the event of his injury and subsequent withdrawal from the Tour Championship, he will be ranked as only the 30th-best player in terms of FedEx Cup points for 2024. This is due to finishing last among a field of thirty players at that tournament. It is an astonishingly distant position compared to Scheffler’s impressive season featuring six victories and record-breaking earnings totaling $28 million.
His statement regarding TV ratings is valid. Without the reset at the Tour Championship, Scheffler’s season-long lead would be insurmountable due to his significant advantage heading into that event. In fact, Scheffler holds a 3,500-point cushion over Rory McIlroy (who sits in third place) in the FedEx Cup points race – much larger than McIlroy’s margin of 2,500 points over you.
On Wednesday, McIlroy expressed his fondness for this format. He highlighted that if it were not for this framework, none of them would stand a chance against Scottie who is currently leading the pack by a considerable margin.
According to McIloy, the Tour Championship becomes more thrilling for consumers with this change. However, he acknowledges it may not provide a completely fair representation of the year’s best player. Nevertheless, their priority is providing entertainment and delivering an exceptional product rather than fairness at this stage.
“In 2019, I won the starting strokes at the Tour Championship and then again in ’22. The format appeals to me as it provides a reset after the regular season. Although everyone is not on an equal footing, it feels more so.”
Regardless of your feelings towards it, the current and near future choice for the PGA Tour is clear. Although this decision may lessen some of the excitement in early playoff rounds with Scheffler and Schauffele dominating, there remains a level of fascination later on as players try to secure positions within spots three through five.
Although Scheffler’s disinterest in the format is reasonable, McIlroy asserts that it provides a superior experience for fans who consume PGA Tour content – despite being unfair to someone potentially having the best season in 15 years.
