Scheffler’s reign, the ‘stupid’ format of the Playoffs

Check in every week for the unfiltered views of our writers and editors as they analyze the hottest topics in sports, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @igalofu_com. This week, we discuss the Tour Championship format, Scottie Scheffler’s reign and the US Presidents Cup squad.

1. A few weeks after calling the FedEx Cup Playoffs format “stupid,” World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler took advantage of the head start and cruised through East Lake, finishing 30 under to win by four over Collin Morikawa. It was his third straight year entering the Tour Championship leading the FedEx Cup standings, but his first victory. Did Scheffler’s runaway victory prove that the format is anti-climactic and in need of a fix, or did it justly reward him for starting the tournament with a head start as he has been the best player all year?

Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): I think that Scheffler won this 33.3 percent of the time he entered the Tour Championship as the leader of the FedEx Cup proves that it is not enough to perform and evaluate statistics – but that still does not mean that it is a good program. The format is always wonky and unnecessarily complicated. I know the downside of mixing the ratings game into everything means that some big names could miss the weekend and hurt the ratings, but could it really be worse than a year-end event that gets off to a bad start? A final point: Playing the game is great theater, and golf fans already get very little of it at the professional level.

Jack Hirsh, assistant editor (@JR_HIRSHey): I wrote about the format last year a few times and I think we have to look at the champions and ask ourselves, are the good guys winning this thing? The answer is 100% yes. There has yet to be an undeserving champion who won the Tour Championship at the end of the year, although it almost happened a few times. Each of the six winners in this format has won multiple times this season. Last year, Rory McIlroy compared how the 73-9 Golden State Warriors didn’t win the NBA Finals. The playoff is a playoff and Josh is right that Scheffler has only won it 3 times holding a two shot lead which makes it random enough to be interesting. But I do not wholeheartedly agree that it is difficult to follow. Much better than tracking points down to fractions in real time. Nobody likes math. Match play would be nice, but having a “season long race” decided in a format that isn’t really used often in professional golf seems a little unfair.

Josh Sens, senior author (@joshsens): The current format is more about entertaining the players than it is about entertaining the fans. Professional golf has already produced many stars. I’m going with Berhow. Switch to the same game. Amazing start is funny. If a matching game introduces ‘unfairness’ or perceived randomness, so be it. The priority should be to provide good entertainment. Not just to further the pockets of already very well compensated players.

2. Scheffler became the first person on Tour to win seven or more times in a season since Tiger Woods did so in 2007 (not counting Scheffler’s gold medal). Woods has hit at least seven wins in a season several times, but can Scheffler? Ten years from now, will something like a seven-win season for him seem normal, or outlandish?

How: For someone to win seven times in a season is crazy… but for Scheffler, I don’t think it’s going to be an outlier. That doesn’t mean I think he’ll do six or seven More times, but once or twice? I think he can.

Senses: There are many factors that make these types of predictions difficult. Will he stay healthy? Will the demons return? But I doubt this will be the last we see of this kind of season from Scheffler. The most important tally, however, will be the majors.

Hirsh: We’re going to see a lot of comparisons between Tiger and Scheffler in the next few years (see below question again), but I’ve yet to see anything that suggests Scheffler can match the sustained level of dominance that Tiger has. I’d say maybe again, but if he does it again next season, I’ll be singing a different song.

3. Speaking of Tiger, when Scheffler is at his best, is his skill the closest thing to Woods we’ve seen in the last two decades?

How: Tiger’s 2006 season is still the best SG: tee-to-green (+2.98) since 2004, but second and third on that list are Scheffler’s last two seasons. Tiger in his prime was so perfect that it’s hard to say anyone matches that skill, and even if we’ve tried to compare before this isn’t very accurate yet, especially if Scottie is doing well. I’m not sure if Scheffler can match his hitting or catching under pressure, but a good start to earning more Tiger comparisons requires more wins. big ones.

Senses: We’ve seen some notable trends that have compared to Tiger– peak Rahm, peak Rory and peak DJ among them. But nothing as intense or intense as what we saw from Scheffler this year, who won in so many settings it was hard to keep track of, and who got the gold medal in everything. The Supreme Tiger is always a different animal. But in every game, Scheffler takes the prize. What was amazing was how he consistently put himself in the mix, whether his putter was cold or when he was sent to the cooler due to a fairway violation.

Hirsh: I think the Sens hit the nail on the head here, not only was Tiger a different animal, but he was a different animal for a long time. All Scheffler lacked last year was awards, now he is winning at the same rate, but let’s see how long he can do that. We have to remember that Tiger did a lot of damage between 1996 and 2013. He basically accumulated 79 in about 17 seasons, which means he was winning more than four and a half times a year. Scheffler has won four times and three times a year in the last three seasons. If he keeps that up for 10 more years, we’ll be on to something.

4. Did Scheffler’s FedEx Cup title solidify his player of the year title? Or do Xander Schauffele and his two biggest championships still have a chance?

How: Justin Thomas recently said that actually instead had Xander’s season (two majors to one), which I think most experts would agree with. But that said, Scottie is the easy winner now.

Senses: Case closed. Credit goes to Scheffler. I suspect Schauffele would say the same.

Hirsh: No player in the last 34 years has won two majors and never won Player of the Year … until this year. I’m sorry, Xander.

5. Last week we learned about the six auto qualifiers for the US teams and the International Presidents Cup, but both rosters will be finalized with the selection of six captains on Tuesday. Who were your six picks to make up the American squad?

How: Sam Burns and Tony Finau were already in, and Russell Henley should now follow up his Sunday finish of 62 and T4 at East Lake. I’m taking Keegan Bradley again — we can’t snub this guy two years in a row! — combining four simple options. After that? Max Homa finished 12th in the standings and looked like a dynamite playoff contender. You have entered. I think Brian Harman (11th in the standings) missing the Tour Championship will hurt him, so I might move down the list and put Justin Thomas up for the final pick. He finished 19th in the standings and 14th in the Tour Championship, but he’s the type of player I look for in events like this.

Senses: That’s a solid pick, but based on recent form I’d swap the Homa for the Horschel. And I don’t mind listening to Denny McCarthy with a dead eye.

Hirsh: You can never leave Homa teams without the Cup. He wasn’t bad at the level of 2023-JT this past year. I’d go to Burns, Finau, Bradley, Homa, Akshay Bhatia and … regretfully … JT I think the only name I need is Bhatia, but he’s really shown this year that he’s going to be on the big stage. years to come. So, it’s better to get him President Cup experience before he goes to the Ryder Cup, he knows it’s really important. As for Thomas, he’s contended enough this past year to get the nod for his playoff record, but that doesn’t warrant his Ryder Cup selection last year. But he is in a much better place than last year. How ironic is it that Jordan Spieth is about to miss this group again?