Tag Archives: Scottie Scheffler

2026 FedEx Cup – Tour Championship at East Lake

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It’s that time of year where the top 30 PGA Tour players get to compete for a huge money grab. Specifically, a $40 million purse with the winner taking home $10 million. And the $40 million purse at the TOUR Championship is considered Official Money, separate from the nearly $100 million in FedExCup Bonus Money.

The FedEx Cup Bonus Money is based on the year long contest and Scottie Scheffler locked up the top spot after winning the St Jude FedEx Championship; which means Scheffler gets a bonus of 23 million; $22 million is paid in cash, and $1 million is deferred into the player’s PGA Tour pension account. The player that comes in second will take home $13 million in bonus money. Third place will receive $8 million, fourth place will receive $6.5 million, fifth will receive $5.4 million, and bonus money is paid out in cash or pension contribution for the top 125 players.. CBS Sports reported the full list of players and the money they earned and it is staggering.

The FedEx Cup as we know it is going away. In 2028, the PGA TOUR Championship Series and the PGA TOUR Challenger Series will be the 2-tier new structure of the PGA Tour.

For the players in the Championship Series. They will have a season long ranking and at the end of all the competitions, the top player is the Champion Series “champion” or “player of the year” based on performance over all of the competitions. It also appears (from the press conference today) that all the year-end bonus will be paid after the series is completed and based on the season.

The fall event will be match play where the top 32 players from the “regular” season series will compete over two weeks for the “Tour Championship”. And interesting move for the tour. Part of me feels like this is just to give the USA players practice at match play so they can compete better at Ryder Cups. It just feels like an “add on” to me. Time will tell how well it is received by fans, players, and sponsors. Here is a video the PGA Tour put out about the new structure and the match play finale for the new PGA TOUR Challenger Series.

The players all want to be in the TOUR Championship Series because it has the big money events (currently known at “signature events”); and they all want to “play against the best players” and not be relegated to the second tier called “The Challenger Series”. It will be interesting to see how the Challenger Series is marketed compared to the current Korn Ferry Tour (which is the current feeder tour into the PGA Tour). Also, how will Challenger Series players move up to the Championship Series? Can they move mid-year or is it a year-end final ranking decision? More to come as this new structure is finalized in 2027.

I have not decided how I feel about the new system coming in 2028. I wonder how favorite players, like Jordan Speith, will feel if they can’t maintain a rank to stay in the Championship Series. Also, how will fans feel if their favorite is relegated to the 2nd-tier? Will fans watch the 2nd-tier events? I don’t watch Korn Ferry events so why would I watch Challenger Series events?

One thing is for sure, next year (2027) at this time there will probably be some big name players that may not be part of the new Championship Series in 2028.

U.S Open a Father’s Day Tradition

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It’s the tradition that the leaders at the USGA will always protect – the final round of the U.S. Open falls on father’s day (in the USA). The overall theme is to honor the tradition of golf as a bonding experience between father’s and their children (or back in the old days, particularly their sons). It has created many moving moments on Sunday. For example, Justin Rose famously looking up to the sky as a tribute to his late father.

But really, for me it is all about the golf and who I am cheering for to win. And this year it is Scottie Scheffler. I’m not cheering for him just because I like him as a player, or that he is the #1 golfer in the world. I’m cheering for him because it would give Scottie his grand slam since the U.S. Open is the only major he has yet to win. Plus championship Sunday is Scheffler’s 30th birthday. A grand slam would be a pretty amazing gift.

Other players that I would not mind hoisting the trophy are Cameron Young (New York native grew up playing his golf at Sleep Hollow), Tommy Fleetwood, or Chris Gotterup (Jersey Boy). For those wondering which player might be a great bet and be primed to win look at Tommy Fleetwood. In 2018 Tommy Fleetwood had the lowest score on Sunday with a 7 under 63 and was one shot off the winning overall score. The winner in 2018 was Brooks Koepka with a score of 1 over par. I don’t see Koepka winning because on Sunday he withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open with a hand issue.

The Course and the USGA – Shinnecock has hosted the U.S. Open in 2004 and 2018 and both times the “course got away from” the USGA. Most fans will remember Phil Mickelson famously hitting his ball while it was still moving because he was so frustrated. This week the early coverage on Golf Channel they have shown that the greens are constantly being watered. The USGA clearly does not want to be embarrassed this year.

I hope that the U.S. Open at Shinnecock is more interesting than the PGA Championship was at Aronimink; which just seemed to be a putting contest on difficult greens. I understand the reasons golf courses remove trees including saving the turf from shade and humidity; or the club says they are “restoring the course” to its original design. But I miss the courses that are tree lined and make it much more interesting off the tee. Often times, I think why do the USA courses all want to now have a links look and feel? Now, I understand that Shinnecock (and long island in general) has always been big and open and the greens (with wind) the big defense; but overall I hope the USGA and PGA of America don’t always pick links style courses to present to golf fans in their future championships.

Let’s hope for an exciting week for the U.S. Open.

The 2024 Masters – My Picks for the Winner, Sleepers, and Sentimental Dark Horse

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year for all golf fans – Masters week!

I hope I get a few comments from folks because I really am curious what other’s have for their picks to win and who are sleepers and/or dark horse predictions. Now, I don’t gamble so I’m not big on doing research on odds so my picks are just based on my gut.

Winner – I think the #1 player in the world Scottie Scheffler is a safe bet and he has been one of my favorite players since he won in 2022. He has played in four Masters starting in 2020 and has always finished in the top 20; last year he finished T10. Of course, he has won twice already this season so he is in great form coming into the championship.

Sleepers – There are a few but if I have to pick one as the winner, I am going with Brooks Koepka. I think he will play with a chip on his shoulder given his T2 finish last year and loss to Jon Rahm. It’s also interesting to see all the articles online that predict a LIV golfer will win this year; and Koepka fits the bill.

Other sleeper picks include:

Wyndam Clark: This is his first time at The Masters so I’m not sure how his game fits the course but I’m picking him because his form has been so good coming into The Masters .

Jordan Speith: He had been my favorite player since he turned pro and it’s a roller coaster ride being his fan. He is really not playing well but you can never count Jordan out at The Masters; and he did finish T4 last year.

Nick Dunlap: The young man turned pro this year after winning a PGA tournament as an amateur (the first to do it since Phil Mickelson 33 years ago). He was the #1 Amateur in the world before turning pro and it would be fun to see him win.

Brian Harman: The reason I pick him as a sleeper is because he is a lefty and there is a fascinating theory that The Masters favors lefties which is explained in a Golf Digest Video on YouTube and this video that explains hole #12

Sentimental Dark Horse Pick – I would love to see Keegan Bradley win The Masters. I have followed his career since he turned pro for two reasons (1) He’s a New Englander and Boston sports fan and (2) As a fan of the LPGA, I was familiar with his aunt, Pat Bradley. Over the years, I have come to like his personality too. I also felt sorry for him when he did not get picked for The Ryder Cup. He has played in The Masters eight times and his best finish is T22 (last year, he finished T23) so he really is a long shot but it would be so cool if he won.

Scottie Scheffler Doesn’t Let the Media Get in His Head

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I’m always amused at how so many golf analysts focus on the bad. Even when they acknowledge the great aspects of a player’s game, they quickly pepper the player with questions about their weakness. Point in case was this past week when Scottie Scheffler finished in second place at the Memorial Tournament with the best tee to green play of any player in the field; and that is saying a lot given how hard Muirfield Village played.

There is so much data now in golf. You can look at your favorite golfer’s profile and see all the stats. For example, Scottie Scheffler (by the way is the #1 golfer in the world) has amazing stats when you review his profile on the PGA Tour site. Scheffler’s PGA Tour Stats (SG = Strokes Gained) include:

Scottie Scheffler’s Stats as of 6/7/2023

Now you would think with being #1 in strokes gained in Total, Tee-to-Green, and Off-the-Tee; as well as, #2 in Approach to the Green that he would win every week; but then you see his putting has been off. But overall his consistency is incredible. He has made every cut, has won twice, and has 11 top 10 finishes. See the screenshot below of his performance as of June 7,2023.

Scottie Scheffler’s record as of 6/7/2023

So when the golf media decides to focus on what’s not going right instead of what is amazing consistency; I love the fact that Scottie Scheffler basically ignores all the “talk” and just plays his game. And he doesn’t let the media get in his head. His reply to his poor putting “Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn’t.” Now he did go on to say it is frustrating but he then said “If I was putting my best this week, I would have won by a crazy amount.” He also said that he and Jon Rahm were joking about how the putts weren’t falling this week.

Even though he knows he has an issue with his putting. He has been asked about his putting every week for a few weeks; he acknowledges it but doesn’t let the media “poke the wound” and get upset about it.

I have admired Scottie Scheffler since his Master’s win not just because of his play but also because of his easy going personality with the media. Some of the players that show their irritation with the media (when the golf analysts question their weaknesses) need to take a lesson from Scheffler – don’t give the media fuel for the fire by letting them get into your head.