The Five: Biggest stories to follow during the FedExCup Playoffs

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The FedExCup Playoffs are here. Fewer men qualified for this year’s postseason, but the aim remains the same: to win the TOUR’s top prize. Winning the FedExCup is the reward for an entire season of excellency, but it also requires players to get hot at the right time. Like other sports, postseason performance is always imperative.

Here are five stories that you need to know before the Playoffs get underway Thursday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

1. A NEW BIG THREE

There’s no debate over who are the top three players in the world. The same three names sit atop both the FedExCup standings and Official World Golf Ranking. The order is slightly different on each list, but Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy occupy the top three spots on both.

They’ve earned their spots with incredible seasons, but also sustained excellency. They’re the only three players to hold the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking over the past two years.

Rahm has won four PGA TOUR titles this season, including the Masters; no one else has won more than two times. Rahm’s four wins this season tie Rory McIlroy for the most in a single season by a European over the past 40 years.

Scheffler has two wins, including THE PLAYERS, and had 18 consecutive finishes of 12th or better. McIlroy also has won twice, including a dramatic win at the Genesis Scottish Open.

They’re Nos. 1-3 in the FedExCup standings: Rahm, Scheffler and McIlroy respectively.

Scheffler is seeking a bit of revenge on McIlroy after losing a six-shot lead to him on the final day of the TOUR Championship last season, while Rahm is trying to get the best of Scheffler in a head-to-head competition after losses in the quarterfinals of the 2021 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, that year’s Ryder Cup singles and in this year’s WM Phoenix Open, where they were paired together over the final 36 holes.

McIlroy, the reigning FedExCup champion and only player to win three FedExCups, is the most recent member of the trio with a victory. The Masters in April was Rahm’s most recent win, while Scheffler last won at THE PLAYERS in March. McIlroy’s most recent win came at last month’s Genesis Scottish Open, where he birdied the final two holes to beat local hero Robert MacIntyre by one.

2. BIG NAMES, SHORT STICKS

The top three in the FedExCup will be paired together Thursday, and two of them may have new putters in the bag. Both McIlroy and Scheffler were spotted using new flatsticks in their pre-tournament preparations. McIlroy said he just wanted to get a new look on the greens and admitted that the Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5 that he debuted this week could be on a short leash.

“I just wanted a different look, just wanted to freshen it up,” McIlroy said, setting the stage for a potential, and rare, mid-tournament switch. “I've got my (TaylorMade) Spider with me this week if that putter isn't doing what I want it to do over the first couple days. I may go back.”

Scheffler, a devotee to blade style putters, has been using a TaylorMade Spider mallet this week.

“I've always liked the visual of that Spider putter, but I really just did not like the feel,” Scheffler said. “That's something we discussed, kind of the feel and -- I've always struggled with putters that have a lot of weight in the back side of it, and this one is a bit different than a lot of the Spiders that they've made, and the weight is more in the front so it has the feel of a blade putter that I like but it also has a lot of that visual on the top where it's easier for me to line up. It feels like at times this year I've hit a lot of good putts that have gone right up to the edge and not gone in.

“Maybe it could be my alignment. If your alignment is a half inch off, the ball lips out instead of going in the middle or lips out instead of lips in. The margins in this game are so close, so it's something that I feel really comfortable with where the balance point is on this putter, and I'm excited to try it out this week.”

3. BIG MOVERS

What a difference a year makes. Rickie Fowler was the last man in the field for last year’s FedExCup Playoffs. He arrived in Memphis at No. 125 in the standings. This year? He’s all but a lock for East Lake, arriving at the first Playoffs event ranked ninth in the standings. Fowler won the Rocket Mortgage Classic for his first victory in four years and has 16 top-25s (including eight top-10s) in 22 starts this season.

He didn’t make the biggest year-over-year leap, however. Harris English was 198th in the FedExCup after last year’s Wyndham Championship. He played just 12 times in an injury-interrupted campaign, made half his cuts and had just one top-25.

The 2021 Ryder Cup team member made a big leap this season thanks to a runner-up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and three other top-10s.

Other big movers from last season include Nick Taylor (No. 133 to No. 12) and Jason Day (No. 122 to No. 11).

4. SIGNATURE REQUIRED

The three events of the FedExCup Playoffs deservedly offer big rewards to their champions, but it’s not just winning that reaps big rewards. This week, players outside the top 50 in the standings are trying to crack that threshold to earn their way not only into the BMW Championship but also all of 2024’s Signature Events.

Nick Hardy, who teamed up with Davis Riley to win this year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, currently sits at No. 50. The University of Illinois alum also is seeking a return to his home state by qualifying for next week’s BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago.

Lucas Glover, winner of last week’s Wyndham Championship, jumped from 112th in the FedExCup to 49th with the win. He finished T3 at last year’s FedEx St. Jude Championship to qualify for the BMW.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Cameron Young is 48th in the FedExCup after finishing 19th last season. His five top-10s this season are just two fewer than last year, and he has just one runner-up after posting five last season (in addition to two third-place finishes). Young has been trending upward after back-to-back top-10s at the John Deere Classic and The Open.

5. ROUGH STUFF

TPC Southwind was deluged with rain Wednesday. Soft courses are always ripe for low scores, but TPC Southwind should still put up a fight. No course has seen more balls hit in the water since the advent of ShotLink 20 years ago. And it’s not even close. That’s more than 1,000 water balls than No. 2 on the list, Muirfield Village Golf Club.

High temperatures and plenty of water make for prime growing conditions for Bermudagrass, as well.

“The rough has always been pretty penal here, but it seems to be a lot thicker than it has been in years past,” said Scheffler. “Other than that, the golf course provides the same challenges. You've got to hit it really good out here, and when you're in position you can score, but the second you start hitting the ball off line, you're going to be penalized pretty severely for those mistakes, especially with a lot of the water holes.”