CUTTHROAT FALLS

I’m sure I am in the minority here, but I’m finding the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Fall far more compelling than the vast majority of PGA Tour Signature Events. Dare I suggest the fall feels more competitive than the cushy regular season? Give me real cut lines and career-defining stakes over 70-player cash grabs any day. These fall tournaments may not draw massive viewership figures, but they’ve delivered some of the best drama of this PGA Tour season.

Yesterday, J.T. Poston took control late at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas. Standing on the 16th tee, he led Doug Ghim by four shots. A couple of short, nervy missed putts later, Poston faced a four-footer on the 18th hole to win the tournament – and he buried it. With the victory, Poston, who has reportedly been working on his strength and ball speed, punched his ticket to the Masters and secured a two-year exemption on tour among the other benefits to winning a PGA Tour event.

Also on Sunday, Michael Kim surged up the leaderboard with a final-round 62, jumping from 129th to 112th in the FedEx Cup standings, crossing the key top 125 threshold with four fall tournaments remaining. Meanwhile, Gary Woodland continued his inspiring return to golf, finishing T9 – his best finish since undergoing surgery last year to remove a brain lesion. Notably, Woodland has recently reunited with his longtime swing instructor Randy Smith, who is widely known for instructing Scottie Scheffler. As Woodland settles back into professional golf alongside Smith, it’ll be interesting to track the progress of another Smith pupil.

The fall swing may not produce a Rory McIlroy-Bryson DeChambeau Sunday showdown, but these are the types of stories that breathe life into the quieter part of the PGA Tour schedule. The regular season showcases the best ~100 players on the PGA Tour; the fall swing helps determine who earns a spot in that player pool. This structure of the tour is way more sensible than how it used to be.

Looking ahead to future editions of the fall swing, I’d love to see the tour prioritize getting all 30 of the Korn Ferry Tour graduates into these fields. The best version of the PGA Tour is the most competitive version. Lean into it!

WORLD NO. 1 UPDATES

After failing to reach a deal with Austin Country Club and destroying the Dell Match Play – one of the PGA Tour’s most compelling tournaments – the tour finally returned to Austin this past weekend. Well, sort of.

Scottie Scheffler appeared as the celebrity guest on College Gameday for the Georgia – Texas football game on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Much to the internet’s amusement, he picked Miami to beat…Louisville. Much to my amusement, the FedEx Cup trophy joined him on set. Whenever the tour ultimately blows up the FedEx Cup and admits it was a failure, it won’t be for a lack of marketing effort.

The biggest news in Scheffler-world, however, came from his recent appearance on the Subpar podcast, where Scottie revealed his potential menu for the 2025 Masters Champions Dinner. He indicated that he may keep the exact same menu he served in 2023. Incredibly on-brand for Scheffler, no? For someone as focused as Scottie is on keeping things simple, sticking with a winning recipe feels quite Scheffler-esque. And perhaps in a way, sheds light on the mindset of the world’s best golfer. If something is working, why change it? Maybe he’ll change up the menu, but I’d like to imagine Scottie serves the same menu like five more times in his career.

Lastly in Scheffler-world, I attended a Halloween party this past weekend, and if my experience is any indication, get ready for an influx of Scottie-Scheffler-in-a-jumpsuit costumes this Halloween. Detective Gillis has done more to elevate professional golf’s profile in the mainstream than almost anybody involved in the sport.

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

One of my favorite pieces of recent golf content came courtesy of the always-excellent DP World Tour social media team, which put together a compilation of Angel Hidalgo’s on-course theatrics.

Reminiscent of the great Ho-Sung Choi! These days, you rarely see on-course theatrics like Hidalgo’s. You don’t really see too much of any kind of behavior to differentiate professional golfers from one another. When Charley Hull smokes a cigarette on camera, the internet loses its mind.

The scarcity of on-course flare does reinforce my belief that artistry and playing elite golf are opposing forces in the modern era. Flat lies, perfectly manicured short grass and stock shots are the name of the game in 2024. With more wind, less predictability in lies, and more provocative architecture, I suspect we’d see a more artistic, less homogenized approach to golf at the highest level.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.