Tour Championship: Scottie Scheffler relates to Cowboys’ playoff gaffes

ATLANTA — Scottie Scheffler has explained before that he does not like the FedEx Cup Playoff format. Nor does he applaud the handicapped system employed by the Tour Championship.

Maybe it’s because he has arrived at East Lake for the past two years as the top player, beginning at 10-under par and holding a two-shot advantage, but has not sealed the deal. Nor has he received the now $25 million that comes with a FedEx Cup title. But Scheffler is the man to beat again and will start Thursday’s first round at 10-under for the third straight season.

Kind of like his beloved Dallas Cowboys, who have won the NFC East in two of the past three seasons but have not made it to the NFC Championship game since 1995.

“It’s like the Cowboys have had great regular seasons the last few years and left me heartbroken in the playoffs,” Scheffler joked Tuesday.

“But golf is a different sport… In terms of the season-long race, it’s maybe not always going to be the guy that plays the best the whole season; [whoever wins the FedEx Cup is] going to be the guy that plays the best in these playoff events. That’s really what you’re identifying: the guy that plays the best in these last three events.”

Scheffler remains atop the FedEx Cup rankings despite his recent T-33 at the BMW Championship at Castle Pines in Colorado. But he deserves to sit in the top position because of his six wins and 15 top-10 finishes this season. He has been the best player on the planet since mid-March when he won at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass in back-to-back weeks.

Regardless, the playoffs are different.

“Golden State Warriors, best regular season ever, and they lose in the Finals. It happens,” Scheffler added, drawing on another pro sports analogy.

Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA Tour via Getty Images

“You look at a guy like Keegan Bradley, who showed up last week, had a great week, and won the tournament, and now, all of a sudden, he goes from not being in East Lake to having a really, really great chance to win the FedEx Cup. It’s a cool system in that sense. It goes a lot more in-depth than just identifying the best player for the entire season, and in many other major sports, the best team doesn’t always win.”

Bradley went from worst to first, from 50th in the standings to winning at Castle Pines. Next year’s Ryder Cup captain now arrives at East Lake fourth in the rankings, and will begin the Tour Championship at 6-under, four strokes back of Scheffler.

Yet, for Scheffler’s sake—and other PGA Tour pros, for that matter—the FedEx Cup Playoffs do not come close to carrying the weight of the four majors. Major championships mean everything to a player and their legacy. Just ask Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

“I don’t know if the FedExCup is the equivalent of our Super Bowl, but financially, I would say yes,” Scheffler said, referencing this week’s $100 million purse.

“But in terms of history in the game, maybe not. You’ll have to ask the players. But at the end of the day, I want to win the golf tournament we’re playing, and right now, I have a two-stroke lead, and that’s pretty cool.”

Still, Scheffler is not a fan of the current format. He even said he liked the previous format, as two winners often emerged at East Lake: the Tour Champion and the FedEx Cup champion.

But the World No. 1 still provided a refreshing perspective, considering the fans, in his approach.

“It provides a little bit of volatility, which is good for the fans, and I think it’s also good for some players that didn’t have their best years leading up to get into the Playoffs, and all of a sudden turn a year that’s not their best into somewhat of a career year in terms of winning the FedExCup,” Scheffler said.

“A lot of volatility, but at the end of the day, golf is golf. The easiest way to solve an issue you don’t like in golf is to play better. That’s really all it comes down to in our game. At the end of the day, if you play good enough golf, it will take care of itself.”

Winning always takes care of itself, no matter the sport. The noise goes away as championships matter more than anything in professional sports. Just ask Scheffler about what he did at Augusta National in 2022 and 2024. Or the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.