I think we can all agree that Scottie Scheffler is not your regular opinion guy. Say, if tomorrow the PIF-PGA Tour deal falls apart, Scheffler won’t have the highest number of microphones in the press room. So, in rare cases, when the burly man of 6’3” does give out some opinion, it carries more weight.

And he has given a pretty strong one in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. “I talked about it the last few years. I think it’s silly. You can’t call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament.” Even though his full response is peppered with jokes and hypothetical scenarios, world no. 1 has hammered the point home.

Why does Scottie Scheffler consider it silly and quite rightfully so

The world no. 1 has two propositions: either don’t call it a season-long race or, if Jay Monahan wants to term it as such, it should actually be a season-long race. Currently, the two playoffs—the FedEx St. Jude and BMW Championship—offer 2,000 points to the winner, a quadruple of regular events (500 points), and more than a double of majors (750 points). 

Good luck in finding someone who values two playoffs worth more than a major. Scheffler doesn’t. He sees them for what they are. “It’s a fun tournament.” But then, the Texas star hits the nail on the head. 

“Hypothetically, we get to East Lake and my neck flares up, and it doesn’t heal the way it did at The Players; I finish 30th in the FedExCup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament.” A valid point to consider. 

The PGA Tour hits the reset button on FedEx Cup points at the Tour Championship. If Scheffler had to withdraw, he would end up in the 30th position because he wouldn’t earn any points from the Tour Championship. 

It’s worth a debate over who had a better season: Schauffele with two majors or Scheffler with one major and five other titles. But it’s facile to add anyone else to that debate. This is why the subtext of ‘season-long-race’ is rendered somewhat pointless if anyone but these two is at the top by September 1. 

Moreover, entering East Lake, the top point-earner gets a ten-stoke advantage. The second player starts at 8-under, and so forth the fifth player starts at 5-under. 6–10th-ranked players start at 4-under. But then Scheffler was never very warm to the idea of this ‘privilege’ to top-point earners. 

The current format skews the game

Now, Scheffler has an (almost) insurmountable lead. Even Xander Schauffele has to rely on Scheffler’s misfortune to realistically have a chance. Technically, the two-time major winner has all the advantages a player can ask for.  But you can be sure that even if he enters the Tour Championship at 10-under, Scheffler won’t be the proudest guy to walk around East Lake. So, why does the PGA Tour do it? 

To avoid a scenario like 2009. That year, Tiger Woods was on a Scheffler-like plateau in the FedEx Cup rankings. He thrashed the BMW Championship field, netting an eight-shot victory. At the ‘season-finale’, aka, the Tour Championship, Woods lost to Phil Mickelson by three strokes. So that Sunday, there were two trophy presentations. 

The then-world No. 1 claimed the FedEx Cup trophy and a $10 million bonus. Then world no. 2, Phil Mickelson, claimed the Tour Championship. Dare we say, it was and still is one of the best FedEx Cup finales in its 18 years of existence (barring 2018). 

Why rob the fans of a similar chance now? It doesn’t hurt to have Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler walk up the podium. If you look around, some are already touting an Olympic-like podium finish at the majors, where there is some glory in the second-place or third-place finish as well. 

While Scottie Scheffler’s form almost guarantees him the $25 million, the case would’ve been very different if the race at the top of the leaderboard was tight. Jon Rahm won four times last year, yet he was 18th after the Tour Championship. A point that even Rory McIlroy somewhat agrees with.

Rory McIlroy agrees with Scottie Scheffler on one point

McIlroy would prefer if the FedEx Cup format remained the same. The Ulsterman joked that’s the only way to catch Scottie Scheffler. Hypothetically, yes. Nevertheless, on a serious note, McIlroy rhetorically asked, “Is it the fairest reflection of who’s been the best player of the year?” before answering himself, “Probably not.”

So, effectively, the FedEx Cup Playoffs are anything but a season-long race to the top. It’s three weeks of thrills—which is totally fine, by the way—marketed as something that it’s not. To go back to Scottie Scheffler’s earlier point, if the Ponte Vedra wants the Tour Championship to be the climax of a season-long race, it should be treated as one.

The Ulsterman, however, defended the Tour’s decision from a consumer standpoint. Here is an idea from a consumer: end the FedEx Cup at the Wyndham Championship. Hit the reset button at the FedEx St. Jude Championship itself. Keep the post-season as a post-season bonus, a battle of the top 70 for something more. If these three weeks are meant to be entertainment, then let’s do it properly.