It’s been a long hard season, but finally it is here, the start of the FedEx Playoffs.
As has always been the case since the Playoffs were first started back in 2007, the St Jude is the first stop on the Playoff calendar with the top 50 in the FedEx standings qualifying for the BMW Classic which will take place next week.
Teeing it up this week just 70 players remain and all of the best players in the game will be in attendance as they make their bids to stay in the hunt and qualify for the lucrative Tour Championship.
With points and plenty of cash on the line, the St Jude looks set to be a cracker and ahead of the action kicking off, here is everything you need to know.
The Course
Since the course opened in 1988, TPC Southwind has been the home of the St Jude.
A course that measures just a fraction over 7,200 yards, par for the week will be 70.
Over the years, the course has allowed for fairly generous scoring with its main defence being water that is strategically placed around the course.
Accuracy is very much the order of the day and the prospect of a ball meeting a watery end is very much possible. On some holes, those with exceptional power off the tee will see their options restricted somewhat.
The tournament will be won and lost on the greens with those failing to make the most of the birdie chances that come their way likely to struggle to make an impact.
The Favourites
After winning six times on the PGA Tour (seven if you include his victory at the Olympics) there was a fear that Scottie Scheffler was going to run away with the FedEx Championship, however, a simply brilliant few months from his Ryder Cup teammate, Xander Schaufelle has ensured that it is the two of them who will start the week at the head of the betting.
Let’s start with Scheffler. The number one player in the world, the Texan has enjoyed a magnificent season which has seen him win two of the PGA Tour’s new Signature events, the Players, the Masters and Olympic Gold.
Standing alone at the top of the stats when it comes to accuracy, not since the days of Tiger Woods in his pomp have we seen a player dominate the way that Scheffler has done this year. However there is something missing.
Despite his huge list of accolades, Scheffler has never been able to win the FedEx Championship and frustratingly has been pipped to the post in each of the last two seasons by Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland.
Make no mistake about it, after the dominance he has shown throughout the season, Scheffler will want to cap off his year by winning the Playoffs.
When it comes to the three Playoff events, Scheffler is yet to win one and his record at TPC Southwind surprisingly isn’t the best. In six previous starts he has never finished in the top ten and he will want to change that record here and lay down another marker that he is the man to beat.
Xander Schaufelle will have something to say about that.
The Californian started 2024 as arguably the best player not to have won a major, but after a superb year which has seen him claim both the PGA and Open Championships, Schauffele can stake his claim for being the best player in the world.
Like Scheffler, Schauffele has taken his game to new heights this season and has been able to lay down some hugely consistent results.
Of his last eight starts, six of those have yielded a top ten finish, with two of those tournaments ending up in wins.
Always calm and composed, he will need to rely on those strengths this week as Schauffele is another who hasn’t played well at Southwind in the past.
In his six previous visits he has only managed one top ten finish with that coming back in 2020. Schauffele will believe that due to his two major victories that he is the best player in the game and he will want to stamp his authority with a good showing this week.
Who Else Should we be Keeping an Eye on?
Although much of the pre tournament betting is likely to focus on the two at the top, there is plenty of value on offer if you want to take them on.
Rory McIlroy will round out the top three in the betting and he will be raring to go as he seeks a fourth FedEx Championship title. Nobody in the history of the game has won as many FedEx titles as the Northern Irishman and he knows exactly what is needed in order to put himself in a prime position by the time that the Tour Championship rolls around.
Unlike Scheffler and Schauffele, McIlroy has a great record around TPC Southwind and has three top ten finishes in his last six starts, including a top three finish last season.
McIlroy has become somewhat of a forgotten man this season due to the exploits of both Scheffler’s and Schauffele, he will hope to remind the world that he isn’t in the Playoffs simply to make up the numbers this week.
Ludvig Aberg has been able to take the golfing world by storm this year. Despite seemingly having been on the Tour for years, it’s easy to forget that this has been his very first season on the PGA Tour and this will be the first time he would have teed it up at the Playoffs.
A remarkably consistent player, Aberg’s smooth swing should set him up well to challenge throughout the next three weeks and he could well kick off his bid to become the latest European to land FedEx glory.
If you are looking to back a man at a price then it could be worth taking a second look at Aaron Rai. Perhaps a name unknown to most, the Englishman has been a solid PGA player for years but has really come to the fore this season.
A winner at last week’s Wyndham Championship, Rai is bang in form and as well as his victory last week he has three top ten finishes in his last four starts. With nothing to lose this Playoffs he could be a great player to back at a price.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
