Scottie Scheffler won the FedExCup after his victory at the Tour Championship, his seventh on the PGA Tour in 2024; starting strokes system has been used for the season finale since 2019; download and subscribe to the latest Sky Sports Golf podcast
Wednesday 4 September 2024 17:56, UK
Scottie Scheffler signed off his memorable PGA Tour campaign with FedExCup victory, but does the format for the season-ending Tour Championship need changing?
The world No 1's four-shot victory at East Lake was his seventh PGA Tour win of the season and secured him the $25m jackpot, Scheffler starting the event with a two-shot lead and never relinquishing top spot during the four tournament days.
The staggered scoring system for the Tour Championship was introduced in 2019 to give the FedExCup leader a two-shot advantage over the field on 10 under, with starting scores based on players' positions in the season-long standings.
The previous format saw the FedExCup standings run alongside the Tour Championship rather than being one competition, and there have been questions raised about whether the current system is the best way to determine the whole season.
"The right man won and it got quite close just for a heartbeat, just before the turn, then Scheffler did what Scheffler does and birdied three in a row to run away with it," DP World Tour player David Howell told the Sky Sports Golf podcast.
"With everything that was on the line, his performance on Sunday and throughout the week was exceptional.
"Let's face facts, if he hadn't won the FedExCup this year and it wasn't Xander Schauffele, it would have all looked a little bit silly in my mind. Like most people, I don't think they've got it quite right."
Schauffele - a two-time major winner in 2024 - started as Scheffler's closest challenger but faded to a tied-fourth finish, as Collin Morikawa claimed the runner-up spot and Sahith Theegala produced a brilliant weekend charge to take third.
"I didn't like the fact that Schauffele was one bogey away from potentially finishing eighth in the FedExCup," Howell added. "Four of the guys ahead of him hadn't won all year whereas Xander has won two majors.
"It doesn't make sense, does it, when you look at it from that perspective? There must be a much better way to distribute the enormous amounts of money that the PGA Tour has decided the players are worthy of accumulating.
"It would have been less confusing and better if Scheffler had won the FedExCup and let someone win the Tour Championship on its own. That would have been a great tournament, with Sahith [Theegala], Collin [Morikawa] and Scheffler himself going at it down the stretch.
"It almost would have been more exciting than how it panned out for me, so I'd rethink it if I was in charge. It's a good effort but still not quite right."
This week's Sky Sports Golf Podcast comes from the Swiss Alps ahead of the Omega European Masters, where Howell and Andrew Coltart joined Josh Antmann to look back at a busy week in the sport.
They reflect on Niklas Norgaard's win at the Betfred British Masters and the end to the PGA Tour season, plus review a thrilling finish at the Curtis Cup and look ahead to this week's DP World Tour action.
Download and listen to the latest Sky Sports Golf podcast and don't forget to subscribe via Spotify, Spreaker or Apple Podcasts! If you'd like to contact the podcast, then you can email at golf@skysports.com.
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