2022 Tour Championship: Top 10 power rankings at East Lake
Scottie Scheffler didn’t win last week, but he did enough to maintain the top spot in the FedEx Cup standings. Rounds of 68-67-68-70 earned him T-3rd at the BMW Championship. It was a nice bounceback performance for Scheffler, who suffered a rare missed cut at the FedEx Cup Playoffs opener, the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
The 26-year-old led the field in Wilmington in greens in regulation (81.94%) and was seventh in strokes gained tee to green (6.975).
It’s fitting a dominant player all season like Scheffler gets pole position for the Tour Championship. He’ll start the tournament at 10-under-par, two strokes ahead of his closest competitor, Patrick Cantlay.
Scheffler’s making his third appearance at East Lake.
He finished fifth in the 2020 FedEx Cup and was second on the gross leaderboard with scores of 71-66-66-65.
The former Texas Longhorn settled for T-22nd in the 2021 FedEx Cup and was T-17th (67-72-68-71) in gross scoring.
“East Lake is a great golf course. It’s challenging in spots,” Scheffler was transcribed by ASAP Sports. “You can get it in some spots. I think it’s kind of one of those places where if you’re playing really well, it can kind of open up for you. You usually see a couple really low rounds a day there and you’ll see some guys struggle, as well. I think it’s a pretty good test next week.”
Scheffler is the only four-time winner on the PGA Tour this season and he’s got a major. He’s likely the Player of the Year and it will be all but a certainty with a win this week. Cameron Smith has three wins and a major as well, so he could steal the show like he did to Rory McIlroy at St. Andrews.
Prior to his strong play in Delaware, Scheffler earned T-2nd at the U.S. Open and T-21st at The Open Championship. Scheffler’s been ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking since the last week of March.
He ranks fifth on the PGA Tour in total SG per round (1.759). Scheffler’s top-44 in all SG categories. His short game and putting aren’t always elite, but they’re plenty passable given his ball-striking abilities.
I don’t see Scheffler holding on for the FedEx Cup title, but I see him doing enough to fend off Smith for POY honors and taking home a nice consolation payday.