Depending on when you’re reading this, the field of 70 for the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs is either locked in or about to be following the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.
The 70 playoff contenders include a wave of new faces, with first-time tournament winners like Jacob Bridgeman, Alex Fitzpatrick and probably Jackson Koivun in the mix. But the usual standbys are near the top of the points list at the close of the regular season: Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa and Alex’s brother Matt Fitzpatrick.
With Scheffler having failed to win a tournament since January, this year’s three-week postseason feels more wide open than most.
Remember, last year was the first time in a long time that the PGA Tour did away with the Tour Championship’s “starting strokes” format that rewarded the top handful of finishers with a head start. Scheffler had no trouble winning in 2024 from that 10-under-par starting level.
But in 2025, Tommy Fleetwood won his first tournament on U.S. soil at exactly the right time, going 18 under for the week with no handicap to prevail at East Lake and claim the FedEx Cup and the $10 million bonus it paid out.
Scheffler’s managed to finish second five times and in the top five 10 times since his season-opening win at The American Express. Without starting strokes, a runner-up finish at East Lake won’t be enough anymore. Sure, he very easily could snap into perfect form this month, reminding the rest of the sport who’s boss.
Just as likely?
He could have a perfectly average week for him, miss a few putts and watch someone else take the tour’s top prize.
Rory McIlroy is committed to play in the FedEx St. Jude Championship this week, and that alone is news. The six-time major champ skipped the playoff opener in Memphis last year, able to afford a week without earning points because he was safely in the top 30 that would eventually qualify for the Tour Championship. But this year, he’ll head with the rest of his peers to Tennessee, where the high temperature next Sunday is projected to be 98 before you factor in the heat index.
Sheesh. No wonder McIlroy didn’t want to play last time. And little wonder why the tour isn’t planning to give the St. Jude “Tier 1” status in its new schedule in 2028.
So besides Scheffler and McIlroy, here are three other players to keep an eye on as the PGA Tour season builds up to its finale.
Russell Henley: If he were a college basketball player, Jon Rothstein might trot out one of his favorite lines: Buy Stock Now. Henley has a win under his belt this season, tied for second at East Lake last year on the strength of a first-round 61 and tied for fourth the year before, starting stroke and all. Not only that, but Atlanta knows a Georgia boy when they see one. Henley gets a real pop from the home crowd.
Xander Schauffele: He hasn’t won in 2026, a below-average year by his standards, but Schauffele will be coming off a runner-up finish at the Rocket Classic. More importantly, he’s one of the best East Lake players we’ve seen, and Fleetwood just proved the best players can walk into East Lake and win no matter their season-long form.
Sam Burns: Top-three finishes at the U.S. Open and Open Championship, and a T7 at the Masters? Burns has never been closer to a career-changing major victory. Perhaps a Tour Championship would be a fine consolation prize. He’s gotten better at East Lake as the years have passed, but the thing that separates him is his putting (fourth on tour in strokes gained). You make a few putts that others don’t or can’t, and you can win a trophy any given week.
