Scottie Scheffler has pointed out a major misstep by LIV Golf ahead of their season finale in Indianapolis, even as the power struggle with the PGA Tour continues.
LIV and the PGA Tour are still in talks about a possible merger, but there doesn’t seem to be much progress being made at this stage.
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LIV Golf’s final individual event of the season is taking place in Indianapolis, with their Team Championship scheduled for next week in Michigan. Meanwhile, Scheffler and other PGA Tour players still have two events left before the FedEx Cup concludes.
Jon Rahm is currently 12 points behind standings leader Joaquin Niemann. To have any chance of overtaking him, Rahm needs at least a solo seventh-place finish – though realistically, he’ll likely need to win to surpass the 26-year-old LIV standout.
LIV then have one final event next week to decide the Team Championship. From an outsider’s perspective, it does seem tough for casual fans to follow how it all fits together.
Even someone with Scheffler’s deep understanding of golf admits he’s found himself confused by how LIV are wrapping up their year.
LIV Golf called out by Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler has never changed his view on LIV Golf, staying firm in his stance against the breakaway tour.
Recently, he pointed out that it was the LIV players who made the decision to leave, suggesting that they should be the ones answering questions about the divide.
That said, Scheffler doesn’t dismiss the quality of play on LIV. He’s even taken time to learn more about how their system works.
After his opening round at the BMW Championship, Scheffler was asked what winning the FedEx Cup would mean to him. In his answer, he shifted focus to LIV and their setup.
“In order to win the FedExCup, you have to be one of the 30 best players for the entire year,” he said. “And you’ve got to show up at East Lake and have a great tournament. I think when you look at our sport, most of it is competed over four days and you’ve got four days to go out and win.”
Scheffler was then asked whether Player of the Year should be kept separate from FedEx Cup honours – which it already is.
He replied: “Well, I think they’re two different things. All it is is you’re trying to strike a balance between rewarding great play throughout the regular season and rewarding great play in the playoffs. In order to win…
The world number one added that consistency can also be rewarded. “I think it’s extremely hard to win out here on TOUR, and I think a lot of times…”
Scheffler’s endorsement of the PGA Tour playoff system doesn’t mean it’s the right approach
Scheffler may be insistent that the route taken by the PGA Tour concerning having the Tour Championship as pretty much a standalone event is the correct one.
However, it does seem like the playoffs end in somewhat of a damp squib most years. One idea to change all of that would be to change the format of the playoffs to match-play.
The cut-off for the FedEx St Jude Championship would have to be 64 players, before a couple of rounds would leave 16 remaining for the BMW Championship. Two rounds there would then leave the semi-finals for the Tour Championship at East Lake.
Can you imagine two match-play games on Saturday leading into an 18-hole head-to-head final on Sunday? That kind of finish would naturally draw more attention than what we see now.
No matter where you stand on match play as a format, it’d almost certainly bring more drama than what we’re used to under this setup.
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