There is a reason many believe Xander Schauffele is the favourite to lift the FedEx Cup despite world number one Scottie Scheffler having a two-shot advantage at The Tour Championship as he looks for his eighth win of the year.
Of course, Scottie Scheffler will be the pick for plenty after an amazing year for the 28-year-old, with six wins before the end of June, including his second green jacket at The Masters. He also clinched the Olympic gold medal at Le Golf National after a stunning performance on the back nine.
But Xander Schauffele has had an incredible year in his own right. Two major wins launched Schauffele to the superstar status he has been threatening to reach for several years now. He also boasts an outstanding record at East Lake, having won The Tour Championship in 2017. He has also finished second on three occasions during his career.
Xander Schauffele makes East Lake prediction ahead of The Tour Championship
Some think Schauffele is actually the favourite to win The Tour Championship, but there has been a spanner thrown into the works with the Atlanta course undergoing a bit of a transformation over the last year. Tommy Fleetwood admitted to only just finding out that there are 18 new greens at East Lake. So perhaps the form book in Georgia can be thrown out of the window.
Speaking on The Smylie Show, Schauffele shared what he is currently expecting from the new layout ahead of the finale to the FedEx Cup.
“I feel lucky, I’ve got a really good caddie, I feel like these are the moments where he can shine, putting in that extra work figuring out lands. The course is young, I don’t think this course is going to settle for another couple of years,” he said.
“It being firm, it makes me think of Colonial almost where the fairways were firm, the greens were firm, chipping was firm, the putts were a little bit wobbly so I think there’s going to be a little bit of that. Memory is no longer a thing, I have good memories on this property so a lot to draw from.”
Why Scottie Scheffler is so intriguing in FedEx Cup finale
There will be plenty of intrigue surrounding Scottie Scheffler in particular at East Lake, as he did not have the best record on the course previously. He also goes into The Tour Championship off the back of one of his worst performances of the season – only his second finish outside the top 20 all year.
Scheffler will hope that he can put his struggles at Castle Pines down to the altitude and quickly move on, but not being familiar with East Lake may not help him either.
And while most of the field need to produce the tournament of their lives to catch him, the likes of Schauffele will see their deficit as one they can definitely make up.
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