The PGA Tour season is reaching its end. With the 2024 FedEx Cup Playoffs underway, the stakes are higher than ever. The regular season was a thrilling ride, but the real fireworks are yet to come in the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship, with a whopping $100 million purse up for grabs at the last event. Now, all eyes are on the battle for the top spot, with several contenders vying to dethrone reigning powerhouse Scottie Scheffler from the #1 spot. But one player, in particular, is looking to make a statement: Xander Schauffele.

Well, mathematically, yes! According to TrackingScheffler, Schauffele can overtake Scheffler. The X handle highlighted the possibility in a post, captioned, “Mathematically, the only person who can overtake Scottie for the #1 spot heading to East Lake is Xander, and that would require both Xander to win the BMW and Scottie to finish outside the top 5.”

This means the OWGR No. 2 must win the BMW Championship outright. Moreover, OWGR No. 1 must finish 5th or worse for Schauffele to claim the top spot. Currently, Scheffler holds the first spot with 6,533 points, while Schauffele holds the second with 5,037 points. If the nine-time PGA Tour winner ends up winning the BMW Championship, he’ll earn 2,000 points, bringing his total to 7,037. 

However, if Scheffler must finish 5th or worse, he will have to lose FedEx Cup starting strokes out of 10, given to the top finisher. Consequently, a 5th-place finish would earn him 440 points, bringing his total to 6,973. Which would be 64 points short of Schauffele’s projected lead. The world #1, and #2, are first and second on the season’s money list with impressive earnings of $29.1 million and $17.6 million, respectively. 

With two events remaining before the off-season begins, let’s take a closer look at how their season has been so far.

Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele’s unforgettable season

To say that Scheffler had a season of a lifetime is an understatement. He crushed the competition with an incredible six wins. Out of six wins, he bagged 4 titles in less than two months including the coveted Masters at Augusta. Additionally, to top it all off, he’s now an Olympic gold medalist, courtesy of his triumph in Paris. His year was phenomenal on the personal front as well as he welcomed his first child, Bennett with his beautiful wife, Mere.

Schauffele’s season was also nothing short of epic. He bagged two wins, three runner-up spots, and 13 top-10 finishes. He went from being a 0-time major winner to being a 2-time major winner in a single season with his wins at the PGA Championship and The Open. Even the Norwegian pro, Viktor Hovland deemed Schauffele’s run superior to Scheffler’s. The #2 became the first PGA Tour pro to win two majors in one year, since Brooks Koepka in 2018. 

Will Xander Schauffele give Scottie Scheffler a run for the top spot, or will the latter hold strong?  Share your thoughts on the mathematical approach in the comments section below.