Collin Morikawa, Fellow Cal Alums Set For FedEx Cup Playoffs

Morikawa is fourth in the FedEx standings but Scottie Scheffler owns a huge points lead.

Collin Morikawa / Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports

Three former Cal golfers begin a three-week quest in the FedEx Cup playoffs and the riches that go to the eventual winner, but catching points leader Scottie Scheffler will be a serious challenge.

The top 70 golfers in the points standings play at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, beginning Thursday at TPC Southwind in Memphis.

Collin Morikawa resides in fourth place in the FedEx Cup standings with 2,456 points but he is far back of Scheffler, who towers above the field with 5,993 points.

Xander Schauffele, a two-time major winner this season, is second with 4,057 points while Rory McIlroy is third at 2,545.

Ex-Golden Bears Byeong Hun An (1,755 points) and Max Homa (1,194 points) rank 12th and 35th, respectively, in the current FedEx Cup standings. They must remain in the top 50 after this weekend in order to make the cut for the BMW Championship in Castle Pines, Colorado, next week.

Morikawa hasn’t won in 2024 but he has seven top-10 finishes and is projected by Golf Digest as a possible winner at TPC Southwind due to his iron play and approach game returning to form this season. 

Morikawa is paired Thursday with McIlroy, both teeing off at 7:45 a.m. PDT. Homa and Matt Fitzgerald go off at 9:20 a.m. PDT, and the pairing of An and Patrick Cantlay is scheduled for a 10:25 a.m. PDT tee time. 

The gap between Scheffler — who is coming off a come-from-behind gold-medal performance at the Paris Olympics — and everyone else is significant. But winners the next two weeks each collect 2,000 points so Scheffler has not clinched anything. 

At Memphis, the winner pockets $3.6 million and the top 50 in the standings not only advance to next week but earn spots in all signature events on the 2025 PGA calendar. 

The champion at Castle Pines earns $4 million and the top 30 players in the standings advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta the following week. The purse there is $100 million, with $25 million going to the winner.

Following a starting-strokes system used since 2019, the FedEx Cup standings leader entering the Tour Championship begins the final event at 10 under par. Second place in the standings goes off at 8 uuder, No. 3 at 7 under, No. 4 at 6 under, and No. 5 at 5 under.

Players from sixth to 10th in the standings start at 4 under, 11th to 15th at 3 under, 16th to 20th at 2 under, 21st to 25th start at 1 under, and players from 26th to 30th start at even par.

Max Homa / Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports

Presidents Cup qualifying

In addition to pursuit of the FedEx Cup payoff, players are chasing spots on the U.S. team that will compete at the he Presidents Cup, set for Sept. 26-29 at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

If the team were named today, Morikawa would be one of six automatic selections based on his No 3 ranking in the Presidents Cup points standings. Jim Furyk will complete the 12-player roster with his six captain’s picks after the Tour Championship.

Homa is ninth in the points rankings so he can position himself well for a spot by playing well during the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Penny Hardaway hits a putt while Collin Morikawa looks on / Stu Boyd II-The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Morikawa impressed by Penny Hardaway

During Wednesday’s St. Jude pro-am event, Morikawa played with former NBA star Penny Hardaway, currently the head coach at the University of Memphis.

Hardaway said he asked Morikawa for some coaching tips when they reached the 18th tee, and the result was, he said, “I hit a great drive and a great second shot onto the green.”

Asked to evaluate Hardaway’s game, Morikawa gave him high marks.

"He's really good. He's actually really, really good," Morikawa told reporters. "I think he had a handicap of 2 today. He made some legit − I think he made two actual birdies, like normal birdies without his handicap. He was striping it.

"He's such a tall guy, and that's obviously how basketball players are, and he's had, I think, six knee surgeries, so he asked me on 18 something he could work on just about rotation and getting it around the corner a little bit better. He hit some balls out to the right. 

“Look, it was impressive. I didn't know what to expect, and sometimes you see a 2 handicap and they're not a 2, but I actually believe him. He's a great player, and just a great guy to hang out with for nine holes today."