2024 FedEx Cup Playoffs storylines

The PGA Tour enters its final stretch of the season as the first leg of the playoffs gets underway this week in Memphis at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Below are a few storylines to watch for over the next few weeks in the playoffs.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR RACE

It certainly seems like the FedEx Cup could determine who will end up being the player of the year on the PGA Tour. Scottie Scheffler has been the best player on the planet all year and Xander Schauffele has been right on his tail. Scheffler has six wins this season, including the Masters and THE PLAYERS. Schauffele on the other hand has won just two times this season. However, both his wins were major championship victories. Some will tell you that a two-major season is the clear player of the year, but others will say that six wins and a major is more impressive. So how can we settle that? How about the final prize...the FedEx Cup. Is the FedEx Cup some grand trophy? Not really. However, in such a close race, winning the playoffs could be the determining factor in all of this.

JUSTIN THOMAS AND THE PRESIDENTS CUP

The 2023 season was not a good one for Justin Thomas and a lot of people felt that he shouldn't have been a Ryder Cup Captains pick. Thomas ultimately was selected and many of those same people felt that he was a selection due to him being a good friend of captain Zach Johnson. Things didn't really work out well for Team USA at the Ryder Cup and it certainly feels like Thomas won't be getting a captains pick in the Presidents Cup if remains where he is in the standings, which is currently 15th. Thomas, though winless, has had a solid 2024 and if he can have a good playoff run he should earn enough points in the standings to warrant a pick on the team. However, if he can't jump up into the top-12, I can't see him making the team. If JT wants to play for the U.S. in the 2024 Presidents Cup it'll have to start with three good weeks in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

8,000+ YARDS AT THE BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

The second leg of the playoffs, the BMW Championship, will be held at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado and it will play over 8,000 yards. Now obviously with the elevation it means the ball will fly further. However, 8,000+ yards is extremely long. It'll be fun to watch the top-50 players navigate their way around what will be the longest course in PGA history.

JORDAN SPIETH

Spieth enters the playoffs in the 64th spot which means he'll need a great week to move on to the second round. If Spieth can't make the climb it seems like that'll be it for him for a while. He currently sits in the 25th spot in the Presidents Cup standings, so I don't think he'll be on that team in Montreal. He's also discussed the possibility of getting surgery on his injured wrist. So if he can't make the BMW Championship, why not get the work done ASAP? I have no idea what he needs done or how long it'll take for him to get back, but it's probably the earlier the better so that he's ready for the Masters in April. It'll be interesting to see how the next few weeks go for the three-time major champ.

COULD DEFENDING CHAMPION VIKTOR HOVLAND BE ONE AND DONE?

Last year's FedEx Cup champion is in danger of making just one playoff appearance in 2024 as he sits 57th in the current standings. Hovland was unstoppable as the season wound down last year but offseason changes took him off the map. Can he salvage his season with a good week this week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic?

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The final major championship of the 2024 men’s golf season is set to get underway this week. So far in 2024 there have been no “playoffs” needed to settle a champion. In fact, we are closing in on 10 consecutive majors without needing a playoff to determine the winner. Below is a look at major tournaments since 2010 that needed extra golf to settle who the champion would be! 

But before the list, here’s a look at the playoff format of each of the major championships....

The Masters - The Masters uses a sudden-death playoff format that starts on the 18th hole. Should a second playoff hole be needed they go to the 10th hole. The 18th hole and 10th hole run parallel to each other on the course. The playoff rotates through those two holes until there is a winner. 

PGA Championship - The PGA Championship uses a three-hole aggregate playoff format. The holes are determined based on the setup of the course the tournament is being played on. Should the playoff be tied through the three hole aggregate it moves to a sudden death format. 

U.S. Open - The U.S. Open uses a two-hole aggregate playoff format. Much like the PGA Championship, the holes used are based off of the course being played, and the playoff becomes a sudden death if it is tied after the aggregate playoff.  The U.S. Open used to use an 18-hole playoff but changed to a two-hole aggregate in 2018. 

The Open Championship - The Open Championship uses the same playoff format as the PGA Championship, which is a three-hole aggregate playoff. 

Martin Kaymer took home his first major championship at Whistling Straits in 2010 with a playoff victory over Bubba Watson. Kaymer shot even par in the three hole playoff while Watson shot one-over par.

Keegan Bradley won his first major championship in his first major championship appearance at the 2011 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club. Bradley shot one-under par in the playoff to beat Jason Dufner by a stroke.

Bubba Watson won his first of two Green Jackets in a playoff over Louis Oosthuizen in 2012. After both men parred the first playoff hole they played the 10th hole. Watson hit a ridiculous shot from the trees and ultimately ended the playoff with a par and a bogey from Oosthuizen.

A year after Bubba Watson's victory on the second playoff hole at the Masters, Adam Scott pulled off the same feat. The Aussie found himself in a playoff with 2009 champion Angel Cabrera. Scott would win the playoff with a birdie on the second playoff hole and become the first Australian born golfer to win the Masters.

When Zach Johnson won The Open Championship in a playoff it was a four hole playoff. Johnson outlasted Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen in the playoff at St. Andrews. Johnson played the four holes at on-under while Oosthuizen shot even par and Leishman shot two-over par.

Sergio Garcia's long awaited major championship victory came in a playoff at the 2017 Masters. Garcia and Justin Rose faced off in the playoff and Garcia won on the first playoff hole with a birdie putt to claim the Green Jacket.

The last major to go to a playoff was the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris competed in a three-hole playoff for the Wanamaker Trophy. Thomas would ultimately claim his second PGA Championship title by playing the playoff at two-under par.