Scotty Scheffler is aiming for his first FedEx Cup title this week in Atlanta. He starts the Tour Championship with a two-stroke advantage, giving him his “best chance” to win.
The Tour Championship’s tiered structure means Schauffele, who leads the FedExCup points standings, will start the tournament at 10-under, while his closest competitor, Xander Schauffele, will start at East Lake Golf Club at 8-under. It’s the third straight year that Schauffele has entered the Tour Championship ranked No. 1.
The world’s No. 1 has won six PGA Tour events this year, including the Masters and Players Championship, as well as an Olympic gold medal.
“Yeah, it’s nice to be back. We’re in a good position this week,” Schaeffler said.
“Everyone’s goal at the beginning of the year is to have a chance, and there’s no better opportunity to be first than where I’m sitting. I’m looking forward to this week.”
No player who started the Tour Championship at the top of the leaderboard has gone on to win since the format changed in 2019, but Schaeffler believes the tiered format adds volatility to the game.
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“If you want to be the best player at the end of the year, I think the playoffs are definitely going to find that player. In terms of competing throughout the season, you’re not always going to be the best player throughout the season. You’re going to be the best player in the playoff event,” Schaeffler added.
“That’s who you identify as the best at these last three events. The format has changed several times or several times over the years.
“When I first started out, I know Padraig Harrington had won two majors but he didn’t make the BMW and he didn’t qualify for this tournament. So I would say it wasn’t a great situation at the time.
“I think it gives the fans a little bit of variance, and it’s good for some of the guys who haven’t been playing their best years before the playoffs. And it’s also nice to be able to suddenly turn a year where you weren’t playing your best years into a career year in terms of winning the FedEx Cup.
“There’s a lot of volatility, but at the end of the day, golf is golf. The easiest way to fix something you don’t like in golf is to get better. That’s all that matters in our game. In the end, if you play good enough golf, golf will take care of itself.”
There are a lot of changes in Eastlake.
The 30-player East Lake Course has been completely transformed by architect Andrew Green, who also renovated Oak Hill for last year’s PGA Championship.
Green used aerial photographs of East Lake from 1949 to restore the course, which dates back to 1904, and rebuilt every tee, fairway, green and bunker.
The bunkers around the 18th green are deep. The bunkers on the left side of the peninsula green on the par-3 15th hole have been removed. The 8th hole has been shortened and the 14th hole has been lengthened, now playing as a par 5.
Changes included replacing the circular putting surface with a unique slope and shape, adding more movement to the fairways and adding humps and grooves.
“The renovation is definitely interesting,” Schaeffler added.
“It’s basically a new golf course, different from before. It’s not the same at all. The greens are new, so they’re very firm, which I think makes it more challenging.
“Some of the hole locations will be difficult to access. I think there is a lot to learn in terms of golf course setup.
“But overall, we’ll have to wait and see. It’s so new right now that it’s really hard to say exactly what it’s going to be like. All I know is that it’s completely different.
“This has always been a golf course that I really enjoyed. I didn’t feel like I was playing my best golf here. So coming here this year and seeing a new course that I think is going to be really challenging and I think it’s going to be a good fit for me.”
Schauffele: The new course will bring a variety of challenges
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Watch Xander Schauffele make all six birdies in the final round of The Open at Royal Troon to claim his second major title.
Schauffele has already won two majors this year, the Open and PGA Championship, and has a solid record at East Lake, but he admits the new course will present challenges.
“It’s just a new golf course. I’m a glass-half-full guy. So I’ve been playing a lot of new courses this year and I’ve had some good results. And this is a completely new property,” Schauffele said.
“Literally the bunkers are new, the fairway grass is new, the greens are new, the green grass is new, the runout is different, the slope is different. I think the only thing that’s the same is the direction of the hole.
“The records I have are only the past. I have no memories, no holes to follow. I can’t even aim at the tree I was aiming for. It’s just different.
“It’s new. It’s tough. It’s fast. You have to adapt. It’s very new. I don’t have a lot of knowledge in agronomy, but I’ve been on a few new courses before, and they’re a little bit different.
“No matter how it’s designed to be played, it’s going to be a little different for the first two years because it hasn’t really settled in yet.”
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