Creating longevity records is evidence of Adam Scott’s continued ability to compete with the world’s best, but it’s still winning he craves as he becomes the first man to start in every edition of the $100m (A$152m) season-ending PGA Tour playoffs, starting Thursday night.
Having been getting through playing “mediocre” golf, the former world No.1 turned to his long-time equipment guru in England and had a “little bit of a heart-to-heart” to make that next step that he turned into top-10 finishes at the Scottish and British Opens last month and a start in the $30m St Jude Championship.
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Changing equipment can be fraught with danger for some players, but others do it consistently to boost their game.
Scott had been fiddling with things in 2024 and finally bit the bullet before the UK swing, changing the shafts in his irons and driver with immediate and confidence-building impact, ensuring he’s found himself with lots to play for still.
“I caught up with kind of my trusted adviser from years of work with him on equipment back in the UK, and a little bit of a heart-to-heart, like ‘Adam, what’s going on here, what have you been thinking about?’ because I’ve kind of been out there doing it a little bit on my own,” he said ahead of his opening round in Memphis, his 18th-straight start in the PGA Tour playoffs.
“Just got everything lined up a little better, and I think over the last couple years, probably undervalued that part of the professional game. Equipment and technology is a big thing. You see it every week, guys working on TrackMan, and that’s not really where I’ve grown up.
“If I was critical of myself, although intentions being right, I probably didn’t manage that as well as I could have and certainly see the need to be more on top of that going forward.
“I think I’ve improved in most areas of the game this year, although not drastically. But I’ve tried really hard … because I find it really challenging at this point playing mediocre golf. That’s very frustrating … I was moving some equipment around this year and with all the right intentions not always landing the right spot.
“But I feel like just before the Scottish Open, through the bag, landed in a good spot, and that’s been very helpful confidence-wise, and I think it showed in my results straight away.”
Scott has thrown a new set of irons, with the preferred shafts, in his bag for this week’s event, needing to finish in the top 50 to progress to the BMW Championship, then the top 30 to make the Tour Championship.
Australian Olympians Jason Day and Min Woo Lee as well as Cam Davis are also in the field this week looking to progress.
“Sitting in my position, there’s so much to play for. I think everyone has a lot to play for,” Scott said.
“But these few weeks can turn just an average year into a really great year on tour, playing well on the right weeks. I did that a couple years ago. In fact, a couple years ago I would have said I played quite poorly for the season and had a good run in the playoffs and made it to Atlanta, and all of a sudden you’ve had a great year.
“A similar thing coming in here, although I played better this year than a couple years ago and even last year. There’s a lot to gain, I think, for everybody who’s made it here.”
Golfer remarkably packs up, HOLDS UP PGA | 00:47
FED-EX CUP PLAYOFFS — HOW IT WORKS
Golfers play for FedEx Cup points throughout the season with only the top 70 golfers qualifying for the end-of-season playoff, down from 125 two years ago.
This week’s St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, is the first event of the playoffs.
From there, the top 50 in the updated FedEx Cup standings will get a start at the BMW Championship Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago.
Only the top 30 in the standings after that event will qualify for the final event of the season, the Tour Championship — where the winner takes the $US25 million ($A37.9m) FedEx Cup first prize.
The tournament uses a handicap system with FedEx Cup points standings determining what score golfers start on — with those towards the top getting a huge headstart on those who only just qualify.
Tour Championship handicap system based on FedEx Cup points
1-seed: (10 under)
2-seed: (8 under)
3-seed: (7 under)
4-seed: (6 under)
5-seed: (5 under)
Seeds 6-10: (4 under)
Seeds 11-15: (3 under)
Seeds 16-20: (2 under)
Seeds 21-25: (1 under)
Seeds 26-30: (par)
THE STANDINGS
1. Scottie Scheffler: 5,993
2. Xander Schauffele: 4,057
3. Rory McIlroy: 2,545
4. Collin Morikawa: 2,456
5. Wyndham Clark: 2,154
6. Ludvig Aberg: 2,092
7. Sahith Theegala: 2,037
8. Hideki Matsuyama: 1,899
9. Sungjae Im: 1,883
10. Shane Lowry: 1,867
Australians
26. Jason Day: 1,345
44. Cam Davis: 1,051
46. Adam Scott, 1,041
62. Min Woo Lee, 783
Approximate Tour Championship prizemoney in $AUS
1st: $37.9 million
2nd: $19 million
3rd: $11.4 million
4th: $9.1 million
5th: $7.6 million
6th: $5.3 million
7th: $4.2 million
8th: $3.4 million
9th: $3 million
10th: $2.7 million
PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
FedEx St. Jude Championship
August 15-18
Course: TPC Southwind
BMW Championship
August 22-25
Course: Castle Pines GC
Tour Championship
August 29-September 1
Course: East Lake GC
HOW TO WATCH
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PAST WINNERS
2023 – Viktor Hovland
2022 – Rory McIlroy
2021 – Patrick Cantlay
2020 – Dustin Johnson
2019 – Rory McIlroy
2018 – Justin Rose
2017 – Justin Thomas
2016 – Rory McIlroy
2015 – Jordan Spieth
2014 – Billy Horschel
2013 – Henrik Stenson
2012 – Brandt Snedeker
2011 – Bill Haas
2010 – Jim Furyk
2009 – Tiger Woods
2008 – Vijay Singh
2007 – Tiger Woods
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