After nearly capturing his third victory of the year last week at the BMW Championship, Scottie Scheffler will start this week’s FedEx Cup Playoffs finale in the Tour Championship pole position.
Scheffler is the first player since the Tour Championship moved to the staggered start format in 2019 to start the event at 10 under in back-to-back seasons, but in only two of the four years of this format has the leader entering the week held on to win the tournament. Rory McIlroy is the only player to win the FedEx Cup when not leading the Tour Championship from the get-go, which he’s done twice.
McIlroy starts this week at seven under, two shots better than when he won the Tour Championship in 2019 in the first year of the format and three better than last year. McIlroy began the 2022 Tour Championship at four under before opening triple-bogey on the first two holes to wipe away his starting strokes. He then played the remaining 70 holes in 21 under to defeat Scheffler and Sungjae Im by one.
In 2019, McIlroy beat Xander Schauffele by four at 18 under while starting the week at five under. Like last year, McIlroy would have won the event without the handicap strokes too, posting the low-72-hole gross score in both of his victories.
‘I’m not a fan’: Is the Tour Championship format working? Pros are lukewarm at best
When Dustin Johnson won in 2020 by three over Schauffele and Justin Thomas, Schauffele, a known fan of East Lake, actually beat Johnson by four strokes without the staggered start factoring in. The next year, Jon Rahm and Kevin Na both beat Patrick Cantlay by three, but Cantlay’s starting advantage was enough for him to claim the FedEx Cup by one over Rahm.
Here are the last four winners of the FedEx Cup with their final scores and starting scores for the week of the Tour Championship.
2022 winner: Rory McIlroy
Starting FedEx Cup position: 7
Starting score: -4
Final score (with strokes): -21
2021 winner: Patrick Cantlay
Starting FedEx Cup position: 1
Starting score: -10
Final score (with strokes): -21
2020 winner: Dustin Johnson
Starting FedEx Cup position: 1
Starting score: -10
Final score (with strokes): -21
2019 winner: Rory McIlroy
Starting FedEx Cup position: 6
Starting score: -5
Final score (with strokes): -18
What will the winner’s starting position be this year? Below you’ll find the 2023 Tour Championship’s starting positions with FedEx Cup rankings.
2023 Tour Championship starting positions
1. Scottie Scheffler, -10
2. Viktor Hovland, -8
3. Rory McIlroy, -7
4. Jon Rahm, -6
5. Lucas Glover, -5
6. Max Homa, -4
7. Patrick Cantlay, -4
8. Brian Harman, -4
9. Wyndham Clark, -4
10. Matt Fitzpatrick, -4
11. Tommy Fleetwood, -3
12. Russell Henley, -3
13. Keegan Bradley, -3
14. Rickie Fowler, -3
15. Xander Schauffele, -3
16. Tom Kim, -2
17. Sungjae Im, -2
18. Tony Finau, -2
19. Corey Conners, -2
20. Si Woo Kim, -2
21. Taylor Moore, -1
22. Nick Taylor, -1
23. Adam Schenk, -1
24. Collin Morikawa, -1
25. Jason Day, -1
26. Sam Burns, E
27. Emiliano Grillo, E
28. Tyrrell Hatton, E
29. Jordan Spieth, E
30. Sepp Straka, E