The Memorial Tournament might be the big event this week but the PGA Tour has done its best to take eyes away from that and Scottie Scheffler has now had his say on proceedings.
The TOUR has move to make big changes to the Tour Championship and announced last night that those changes will come this season.
The season points and additional shots will now not count in the event, meaning we’ll see a straight shootout for the win.
This is something that Scottie Scheffler has called for in the past and now speaking to the media ahead of The Memorial, the world number one has given some lengthy answers on the subject.
Scottie Scheffler gives verdict on changes to the Tour Championship
Scheffler is the first big name player to speak to the media this week and he follows up Jack Nicklaus’ lengthy press conference yesterday.
Of course, things were always going to get onto the Tour Championship changes and Scheffler has given his thoughts on matters.
“I think when you’re looking at a golf tournament, I think the best way to identify the best player over the course of a tournament is 72-hole stroke play on a really good golf course. I think when you look at a good test of golf and you got to compete over four days, I think that’s the best way to crown the best winner for that week,” Scheffler admitted.
“And looking at the TOUR Championship, I didn’t love the previous format of starting strokes, and I really like the direction where we’re going. I think the TOUR Championship’s going to be difficult to qualify for. Making the TOUR Championship is truly going to be the results from a great body of work over the course of a season, and then you have an opportunity to win the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup.”
Scheffler was then quizzed on the implications of the finances, with huge money usually on offer to the winner of the FedEx. But even on that subject, the world’s top player seemed to be onboard.
“Yeah, I think the way the finances are going to shake out, which I really don’t like talking about because I think it’s silly, but I think the way the finances are going to be is more leaning towards the reward for a great regular season and some payouts that way, versus just your performance at the TOUR Championship,” Scheffler continued.
“Because as players that’s not why we compete. I don’t compete for the financial benefit at the end, I care much more about winning the TOUR Championship than I do winning the money for the TOUR Championship. Look, I want to win the FedExCup because it’s the race over the course of the whole season, you have to play great golf to finish in the top 30 for the entire season, and you got to show up at the right time and play great golf.
“Like you think about the same thing when you think about our best tournaments. You think about the PLAYERS, you think about the major championships, you have to play well at the right time, and that’s just part of being in competitive sports.
“You look at the Patriots, they won 18 games one year and they lost the 19th and it looks like a failure for a season. Now, they had a great year, and they didn’t win the Super Bowl. At the end of the day you have to perform when it matters the most. I think now with the format we have, we have a great format of a 72-hole golf tournament. If I want to win the FedExCup, I have to play well at the last week of the season, and it’s just simple as that.”
Scottie Scheffler calls for another change to the TOUR Championship model
While Scheffler seems fully at ease with the current changes, he did also get onto the subject of how the points to qualify for the season finale are accumulated and won.
And on that, Scheffler claimed it’s something that needs changing.
“I think going into next year I think the points is something that is probably going to have to be adjusted. And like I said, we want the most fair test over the course of the season to qualify for the TOUR Championship. And the way it is right now with having some tournaments at 2,000 points, I don’t think is the most fair test of the body of work for the entire season,” he continued.
“There’s something to having some emphasis on those last few tournaments, because they are the playoff events and they are a last couple tournaments, there should be some sort of emphasis there. I think right now with it being four times the amount of points that you get for winning, for instance, the Byron Nelson Championship, I don’t think that that’s maybe the fairest way to do it.
“So I think there’s a sweet spot and a balance there with placing some emphasis on those last couple tournaments while also rewarding a body of work for the entire season.”
Scheffler did go on to admit he likes the idea of the top 30 competing for the FedEx Cup, and suggested that any more could ruin the event a touch.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
