No head start, Scottie Scheffler still leading at East Lake

ATLANTA — This year, Scottie Scheffler won’t be getting any strokes on the field.
Not that the world’s No. 1 golfer needs any.
The latest format to the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs will be a welcome change for most of the 29 other golfers who also advanced to the Tour Championship, which begins Thursday at East Lake Golf Club.
Instead of the staggered scoring model used from 2019-24, all 30 golfers will start at even par regardless of point standings. That means that Akshay Bhatia, the last man in the field, will have just as good a chance to bring home the championship — and the $10 million first prize — as the defending champion and this year’s points leader Scheffler.
Scheffler, who looks to become the first back-to-back FedEx Cup champion, started last year’s tournament at 10-under par, two strokes ahead of the second-place starter and 10 strokes ahead of the 26th-30th starters. Scheffler won at 30-under par, four strokes better than second-place Collin Morikawa.
This is the fourth consecutive year that Scheffler has entered the Tour Championship as the points leader. He finished tied for second in 2022, tied for sixth in 2023 and won in 2024.
“I guess no more sandbagging for me at the end of the year,” Scheffler joked.
Seventy players began the playoffs at the St. Jude Championship, won by Justin Rose. Fifty players moved to the BMW Championship, won by Scheffler, after which the field was narrowed to the 30 who will tee it up this week. After the two rounds of playoffs, only three golfers who started outside the top 30 in points moved on to the finale. Harry Hall (44th to 26th), Jacob Bridgeman (33rd to 27th) and Bhatia (45th to 30th) landed inside the top 30, while Lucas Glover, Sam Stevens and Daniel Berger all fell out.
Scheffler said he actually prefers the even-footing format. In the end, getting to the Tour Championship with the 30 best players for the season is a reward. Now, go out and win the tournament if you want the ultimate reward.
“I think it’s great to have just a really great golf tournament to finish off the year.” Scheffler said. “It’s a golf tournament that’s hard to qualify for, and it’s a great reward for guys that have had tremendous seasons on tour, and now we all have an opportunity to go win the FedEx Cup.
“Starting strokes, I don’t think was the best way to crown the season-long race. I think we’re in a much better place now.”
Three-time FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy enters second in the standings, despite skipping the St. Jude Championship. He continues his run with eight consecutive appearances at the Tour Championship, the longest active streak. Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele shared the longest active streak at eight but failed to advance this year. McIlroy is one of six former champions in the field along with Scheffler, Rose, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland.
“I’m maybe part of the minority,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t hate the starting strokes. I thought that the player that played the best during the course of the season should have had an advantage coming in here. But the majority of people just didn’t like the starting strokes.”
Seven players will be making their debut in the Tour Championship. J.J. Spaun, Ben Griffin, Maverick McNealy, Andrew Novak, Chris Gotterup, Hall and Bridgeman are all first-timers in the event with a $40 million purse.
Scheffler enters as the clear favorite. He has finished top 25 in all 18 starts, including five wins (two majors) and 15 times he notched a top-10 finish, including 13 straight entering the Tour Championship.
Now a player such as Tommy Fleetwood, fifth in the standings entering the tournament, has a real chance at the title. He’s had several near misses of late, finishing tied for fourth and tied for third in the first two playoff events. He’s looking for his first PGA Tour victory after several times as a bridesmaid.