The top 70 players from the regular season duke it out in the postseason opener
The 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs get underway this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship batting leadoff. Becoming the first event of the postseason just a year ago, St. Jude immediately delivered with theatrics as Will Zalatoris claimed his first PGA Tour crown over Sepp Straka in a playoff.
Zalatoris will be unable to defend this week due to injury. In his place, the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings will take to TPC Southwind. They are led by world No. 3 Jon Rahm, the top man in th estandings. The Spaniard has claimed four victories this season with 10 top-10 finishes as he looks to add what has already been a banner campaign highlighted by his second major championship at the Masters in April.
Hot on his heels are the two men who battled down the stretch of the 2022 playoffs. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler checks in at No. 2 in the standings after a regular season that included two victories and 15 top 10s — five more than anyone else. The Texan has experienced a historic year from tee-to-green, but the putter has lagged behind and will need to turn into a friendly should he capture his first FedEx Cup crown.
Rory McIlroy needs no advice on how to win the FedEx Cup. The only player in history to win the FedEx Cup on three separate occasions, the recent Scottish Open winner will look to add another chapter to the history books by becoming the first to win the cup in back-to-back years.
Max Homa and Wyndham Clark round out the top five, while notables like Hideki Matsuyama and Cameron Young find themselves on the bubble to qualify for the BMW Championship where the field will be trimmed to 50. Wyndham Championship winner Lucas Glover is narrowly inside the top 50 and will need another strong week in order to extend his season while players such as Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood look to solidify their positioning for the Tour Championship.
Source: cbssports.com