Scottie Scheffler seeks better start at FedEx Cup playoffs

 

[August 10, 2023]  If anyone's looking to redeem themselves at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, it's Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler missed the cut at the event last year, following up a first-round 68 with a 1-over 71. The sour result came just one year after he had his best finish at St. Jude, a 9-under 271 to place 14th.

But this year, Scheffler has momentum on his side as he heads to TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn.

Scheffler has been on fire for nearly three months now, securing top-10 finishes in seven of his last eight tournaments dating back to May 14 at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he began his impressive run with a T5. In 2022, Scheffler finished in the top 10 just twice in the nine events leading up to the St. Jude Championship. He also missed the cut twice during that stretch.

Scheffler will also be entering this week well-rested, as he hasn't teed off since July 23 at The Open Championship.

"I'm sure hoping it's going to help my game," Scheffler said of the time off. "This is a course that I really enjoy playing. I haven't had as much success at this place as I have at some other courses on Tour. I don't know why that is, but I'm definitely hoping to change that going into this week."

With how 2022 played out in mind, Scheffler will be taking a bit of a different approach during this year's playoffs as he tries to keep an eye toward the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club (Aug. 17-20) and the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club (Aug. 24-27).

"I'm treating this year more as trying to build up for East Lake," Scheffler said. "I feel like if I go out and have a great week at East Lake with the position I'm in now in the FedExCup, I can't fall too far away from the lead.

"I am kind of trying to build my way into that tournament and make sure I'm rested just because it's the playoffs. The fields are really good. You don't want to be tired going into the weekend at East Lake just because those are going to be the two most important -- the four most important days of the playoffs."

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy ended up prevailing in the playoffs in 2022, edging Scheffler and South Korea's Sungjae Im by one stroke. Scheffler is determined to make sure he doesn't find himself in that position again this year.

"It's really fun for us as players to have such great competition, and I think what I learned last year at East Lake was I learned, yeah, it is hard to play with a lead. It's something that I've had success with, and I failed at it once," Scheffler said. "It's definitely frustrating when you fail, but I felt like I learned a lot about myself, and it's definitely not an experience I hope to have again in the future."

--Field Level Media

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