The PGA Tour would have been delighted with the sight of both Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler being high up on the leaderboard at the St Jude Championship as the FedEx Cup play-offs got underway.
For much of the season, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele have been, by far, the two standout players on the PGA Tour. Scheffler has won seven times worldwide in 2024, while Schauffele has two major titles. Before the world number one’s triumph at the Olympics, some felt Scheffler would trade years with Schauffele.
Scheffler looks set to start The Tour Championship with a two shot lead after his stunning season, and with that, many will perhaps believe that the 28-year-old has one hand on the FedEx Cup title already.
Writer shares why he thinks Xander Schauffele will beat Scottie Scheffler to FedEx Cup title
However, speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, writer Ryan Lavner suggested that there is one statistic which suggests that Scheffler is actually the major underdog in Georgia.
“I was impressed by Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler continuing to do what they do. Xander shot a 62 in the final round to tie for second in Memphis, Scottie was fourth. I think East Lake is going to be a lot of fun in what is setting up to be a head to head showdown there,” he said.
“And I know we touched on it on the Wednesday podcast about Xander’s dominance at this golf course, even though it has been renovated now by Andrew Green over the past 12 months. Keep in mind, between the head to head of those two players, Xander Schauffele is 43 under par at East Lake over the past three editions of the Tour Championship.
“That’s not included the staggered start, that is literally what he is shooting, he is shooting 43 under par over the last three editions at East Lake. Scottie Scheffler, in that same span, just 13 under par. Xander Schauffele has been 30 shots better than Scottie heading into the Tour Championship over the past three years.
“A two shot margin, if it comes to pass, is absolutely nothing. I still think Xander Schauffele is going to win the FedEx Cup.”
World number one is particularly dangerous when doubted
Schauffele is a former winner of The Tour Championship, so he will certainly take a lot of confidence from that performance back in 2017 as he now looks to catch Scheffler. He has also finished runner-up on three occasions during his career.
But Scheffler continues to surprise people with his performances. Four of his wins this year came at events he had never previously won, while he has only finished outside the top 10 on two occasions this season.
Schauffele definitely has history on his side, and in any other year, he would have run away with the player of the year vote. But Scheffler simply cannot be written off based on everything he has achieved in 2024.
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