MEMPHIS (Tenn.) — Professional golfers focused their attention on Tuesday in a California courtroom. A federal judge ruled it OKThree players who left the PGA Tour for the LIV Golf series were banned from participating in the FedEx Cup Playoffs by the PGA Tour.
Eyes will return to the course on Thursday, where world No. 1 golfer Scottie SchefflerOthers will begin their quest for the FedEx Cup at the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPCSouthwind, the first leg in the playoffs.
Going into FedEx Cup Playoffs ranked no. Scheffler stated that nothing is going to change for him. Im just trying my best to get out there, have a good start, put myself in position for this tournament. The field is very good, the best players are here, and I look forward to the challenge of this week.
Its not the case that all the top players are here. Its also unclear how many of them will still be playing on the PGA Tour after the playoffs.
Open Championship winner Cameron SmithThe No. 2 player in the world, he is also the No. The No. 2 ranked player in the world is the latest high-ranking golfer to be linked to LIV Golf, which is Saudi Arabian-backed. The Telegraph of London reported Tuesday that Smith had agreed on Tuesday to a deal worth more $100 million to join the new circuit. Smith didnt do much for quashReport during a news conference
Although Tuesdays courtroom win was significant for the PGA Tours, losing a player of Smiths calibre, or worse, having Smith lift the FedEx Cup in East Lake in Atlanta in just three weeks, then defecting to LIV Golf would be difficult.
Heres what you should watch during the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
The LIV guys aren’t here
United States District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman ruled that the PGA Tour could be banned Talor Gooch, Matt JonesAnd Hudson SwaffordIt is important that the playoffs are not suspended. It was a win for the PGA Tour, in what could be the first battle between the dueling circuits.
Elliot Peters was the attorney for the PGA Tour. He argued that having LIV players in the field wearing LIV shirts and hats and talking about the new circuit during news conferences would be a platform.
Peters stated that its a fact that there is fierce competition.
Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour, wrote in a memo to PGA Tour players: With [Tuesdays]news: Our players, fans, partners and supporters can now focus on the important things over the next three week: the FedEx Cup Playoffs will feature the best players around the world. The FedEx Cup champion will be crowned at the Tour Championship, completing an extremely compelling season.
With those three players out the field for FedEx St. Jude Championship has been set at 121 players. Daniel Berger (back), Lanto Griffin (back), Tommy Fleetwood(Personal) Nate Lashley(foot) has pulled out of the tournament, and will not be replacing.
How the playoffs work
The FedEx Cup points standings ranked the top 125 players and qualified them for this weeks FedEx St. Jude Championship. After 36 holes, the field will consist of the top 65 and any ties. The FedEx Cup Playoffs second leg will be played at the BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club next week.
Players will compete for four times the points they earned during regular-season PGA Tour events. Players received 600 points for winning The Players and four majors, and 550 points for invitationals or WGC events. The FedEx St. Jude Championship winner will receive 2,000 points. This gives players further back in the standings the chance to advance.
The BMW Championship is a non-cut event. The top 30 points standings after the tournament will advance to no-cut Tour Championship, which will be held at East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Aug. 25-28.
How important is a player’s position in the points standings.
It could be all that a player needs to win the FedEx Cup, and the $18 million bonus. For the fourth consecutive season, the Tour Championship will use a staggered strokes-based scoring method. The Tour Championship will start at 10 under for the player who is top of the points standings. This is before he has even hit a tee shot. The player in second starts at 8under, the third at 7under, fourth at 6under, and fifth at 5under.
Players who are sixth through 10th in the standings start at 4 under. 11th to fifteenth will start at 3 under, 16th and 20th will start at 2 under. Players from 21st through 25th place will start at 1 and 26th through 30th at even par.
In 2019, the first season of starting strokes , the format was introduced. Rory McIlroyHe was able to overcome a 5-stroke deficit at start to win FedEx Cup. But Dustin JohnsonAnd Patrick CantlayThey were the Tour Championship points leaders and were the winners of the two subsequent seasons.
What about the Presidents Cup!
One of the FedEx Cup Playoffs backstories, or at least the largest non-LIV Golf one will be the Presidents Cup. It will take place at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte on Sept. 20-25.
The U.S. team will automatically be qualified for the top six players in Presidents Cup points after the BMW Championship. Scheffler, Cantlay, Sam Burns, Xander Schauffele, Justin ThomasAnd Tony FinauAre currently in the top 6.
Captain of the U.S. team Davis Love IIIAfter the Tour Championship, six captains choices will be made.
Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Will Zalatoris, Billy HorschelThe rookie Cameron YoungThey round out the top twelve and are within striking distance to cracking the top six if they have good showings during the playoffs.
Kevin Kisner, one of most outstanding match-play performers in all of sports. Tom Hoge, J.T. Poston, Cameron TringaleAnd Russell HenleyYou might also consider these options.
International Team captain Trevor ImmelmanHis job is more difficult. His team will be made up of international players from outside Europe and two of the top players from South Africa who meet that criteria. Louis OosthuizenMexicos Abraham Ancer— Defection to LIV Golf
The International Team will be made up of the top eight players from the Presidents Cup standings. At the moment, Cameron Smith is on that list. Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Joaquin Niemann, Joohyung Kim, Corey Conners, Mito PereiraAnd Adam Scott.
Immelman has four captains picks. K.H. Lee, Erik van Rooyen, Ryan Fox, Lucas Herbert, Adam Hadwin, Sebastián MuñozAnd Marc LeishmanIt might be worth looking into.
The U.S. team won eight consecutively and nine of the last 10 Presidents Cups (the two teams tied in 2003). In 1998, Melbourne, Australia, was the International teams only win in 13 matches. Under captain Tiger WoodsThe U.S. team won 16-14 at the Presidents Cup in Australia 2019
Scheffler to remain at No. 1?
Scheffler is currently ranked No.1 in the FedEx Cup points standings. Since Schefflers epic heater in spring, when he won four times from six starts, and culminated with his first major championship win at the Masters, Scheffler has been ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Scheffler hasn’t been victorious since, but he did finish 2nd at the Charles Schwab Challenge as well as tied for 2nd at the U.S. Open. He leads Smith by 1,221 points as he heads into the playoffs, which is likely to be his biggest challenger for PGA Tour Player-of-the Year.
Scheffler is the favorite going into the playoffs. Scheffler already has a single season record $13.2 million in prize cash and a $4,000,000 bonus for finishing first on the Comcast Business Tour Top 10 as well as $1 million for winning Aon Risk Reward Challenge.
Scheffler stated, It feels like I have been leading since a while. Ive had an impressive lead and Im up maybe 1,200 point or something like that. If I didnt play this week, I think a win would help them pass my score. Despite the fact that the playoffs have magnified my lead, I still have a solid lead. I think if I continue to play great golf, I will have a lead going into East Lake. It is definitely a good spot to be in.
Can Finau keep winning?
Finau is the FedEx St. Jude Championships defending champion, in an odd way. He has never played in the event. Finau won the FedEx Cup Playoffs first leg at The Northern Trust At Liberty National in Jersey City, New Jersey last season. This history continues with him at TPC Southwind.
The Northern Trust broke Finaus five-year drought of victory without a win and propelled him to No. Finau was ranked 1 in the FedEx Cup points standings, his first win in his career. After the 2021 Tour Championship, he finished tied for 11th.
He is in seventh place for this years playoffs, which is the highest position he has held in his career. He also comes off back-toback wins at the 3M Open, Rocket Mortgage Classic, and the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Finau stated that I enjoy being in the top 10 going to the FedEx Cup. Its a place that Ive never been. You probably want to be Scottie Schffler right now. You control the FedEx Cup. Hell be in control of the FedEx Cup if they win a playoff event. It would be a great position, but given the current structure of the staggering score, I believe that if youre among the top five or ten, you have a great shot at winning the FedEx Cup.
Above the line
Most of the PGA Tour’s top players are in a position to progress all the way through the Tour Championship. A few familiar faces will need to work at TPC Southwind to progress to the BMW Championship.
Matt Kuchar (No. 54), Harold Varner III (No. Marc Leishman, (No. 62) are just above 70. Gary Woodland (No. 73), Adam Scott (No. 77), Joel Dahmen (No. 80), Justin Rose (No. 94), Jason Day (No. (No. Rickie Fowler (No. (No.125) will need play well to move up. Fowler has Cobra rep Ben Schomin this week. He is no longer working alongside caddie Joe Skovron.