No head start? That’s OK, let’s play, Scottie Scheffler says

Scheffler wasn’t an advocate of the former “starting strokes” system that rewarded players based on their performance during the regular season and the playoffs — even though he was the beneficiary. He has been the No. 1-ranked player going into the Tour Championship the past three seasons and has won only once. He’s OK with the 72-hole format determining who wins the FedEx Cup and the $10 million bonus.

“To me this is a simpler format to end the year,” he said.

Scheffler has won five times this season, including the PGA Championship and Open Championship. The defending champion will be paired with three-time Tour Championship winner Rory McIlroy.

“When it comes to this week, we all start even par, and it’s time to go chase what you want,” Scheffler said. “In order to win tournaments, you have to play good golf at the right time, and if you want to win our season-long race, you have to play really good golf at the end of the season. If you want to win the FedEx Cup, you’ve got to go win this week.”

Scheffler did push back about the Tour’s decision to toughen the course for the Tour Championship.

“I think we need to shy away from the focus of difficulty,” he said. “As players, we always look for a good team. You want to see good shots rewarded in some way. On certain holes that’s a par. On certain holes that’s a birdie. It should never be a bogey. When you’re hitting good shots, you should be able to make par or better.”

Scheffler used East Lake as an example. Players who keep the ball in the fairway are rewarded with birdie opportunities. Those who stray into the 3½-inch Bermuda rough, so do at their own peril.

“Look at a course like Memphis,” Scheffler said. “Every fairway I hit out there, you’re like, ‘OK, I can make a birdie on this hole. I can wedge it close. I can hit an iron near the pin. And every time you missed a fairway, you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, how am I going to make par?’”

Scheffler has been in remarkable form since fully recovering from hand surgery that slowed his start. He has finished among the top 10 in 15 of 18 events — including the past 13. In the playoffs, he tied for third at the FedEx St. Jude Classic and won last week’s BMW Championship.

Sounds like the PGA Tour should consider making Scheffler give shots to the rest of the field.

His history at East Lake has been solid, but not spectacular. Thirteen of his 20 career rounds at East Lake have been in the 60s and one of the 70s came in 2022, when he shot 73 on the last day to lose the tournament to McIlroy.

Scheffler will get Ted Scott, his regular caddie, back on the bag this week. Scott was absent last week because of a personal matter, and former UGA golfer Michael Cromie filled in to help Scheffler win. Scheffler has always given Scott plenty of credit or helping him accelerate from being a good player to being a dominant player.

“It’s extremely important to have Ted back on the bag,” he said. “I don’t think it’s any secret that my career trajectory changed quite a bit when he came on the bag. There’s a lot more to a great caddie than just giving me really good numbers all the time. Obviously, he’s got some personal stuff still going on that I’m not going to elaborate on, but it’s really great to have him back on the bag this week.”