Adam Scott wouldn’t be feeling any more pressure at the Wyndham Championship if this were last year and he was ranked 81st in the FedExCup.
The Australian now faces a significant task as a result of the FedExCup Playoffs format change that reduced the requirement for entry into the FedEx St. Jude Championship from the top 125 to the top 70.
He and Matt Kuchar are the only two athletes to have achieved Playoff qualification each year since the tournament’s start in 2007. To make that streak 17 years, Scott still has some work to do.
Therefore, the 14-time PGA TOUR champion’s Playoffs officially begin on Thursday.
“My game is solid, so my strategy is to go out there and pay close attention. When you’re up against it like this, there is occasionally only one option. It’s similar to registering for a competition, except that this is essentially a four-day qualifier for me. As a result, occasionally doing that might truly help you, sharpen your attention, and finish the job.” Scott said on Wednesday.
Austin Eckroat is the player who is presently in the Playoffs hunt. Scott is 73 points behind him with 590. The Wyndham Championship offers 500 FedExCup points for victory. Between players rated 51 and 100, just three do not compete in Sedgefield.
Scott has played in Greensboro five times before, but he’s never had to play his way into the Playoffs for a season’s final PGA TOUR tournament. Only once has he placed in the top 10, when he tied for second in the exciting six-man sudden-death round that Kevin Kisner won in 2021.
To have a chance of making the field in Memphis, the 43-year-old Scott probably needs at least a two-way tie for the ninth place or better at Sedgefield Country Club. However, predictions based on historical TOUR trends and data point to a three-way tie for third as a benchmark.
However, do not anticipate the former world No. 1 to be crouched over a computer, carefully going over the figures.
“I’m not just aiming to get in next week; I’m thinking about winning the tournament. This week, my main goal is to win, so I may as well think about doing that since I’ll probably need a really high score to get in,” he said.
The 2013 Masters Tournament champion Scott isn’t the only previous major champion who finds himself on the outside this week. The 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year, Shane Lowry, is ranked 76th, followed by Danny Willett, a previous Masters champion, and Justin Thomas, who has won the PGA Championship twice. Jimmy Walker (position 122) is further back, followed by Zach Johnson (position 151) Luke Donald (196), and Webb Simpson (position 165).
The most liberal statistical possibilities for the major group belong to Lowry, who is projected to tie for the fifth place or finish in a two-way tie for 23rd place. In the past seven years, he has competed five times in Sedgefield, where his best performance was a tie for seventh place in 2017.
At Sedgefield, Lowry has only once had to play his way into the playoffs, which he did in 2020 with a tie for 23rd.
Lowry describes his year as having “a lot of good, not much great, which on the PGA TOUR doesn’t cut it” after returning from a family vacation last week. He has had nine top-25 results in 17 outings, but his only top-10 finish this year was a single fifth at the Honda Classic.
“I’m here, of course, because I want to survive till next week. It’s easy to say, “Oh, I just want to play well; I want to go out and try to win the tournament” in my opinion. No, ultimately, I want to advance to the following week, the Playoffs, and the chance to compete in the Playoffs.
It’s amazing to be in this position right now because I still believe I can qualify for the TOUR Championship. Obviously, I would want to be in a better position when I enter this room, but I’m not. It is what it is right now, and this week I’m going to need a strong week. I enjoy playing the Memphis course, and I’ve done well there in the past, so if I can get there, I’m confident I can succeed.
I most definitely do not want to watch the Playoffs from my couch at home. This week, I have a lot of incentive to play well so that I can, hopefully, reap the benefits.” Lowry said.
The $18 million bonus is the ultimate prize, and it will be awarded at the TOUR Championship in Atlanta in four weeks when the top 30 golfers get together.
With 1,099 points, Jordan Spieth would currently be the last player at East Lake. Taylor Montgomery currently holds the 50th spot in the cutoff for the BMW Championship, the second Playoffs event, with 823 points.
