Fact or Fiction: FedEx Cup Playoffs Should Try a Cutthroat Format

Our writers debate the ideal playoff setup, when Keegan Bradley should announce his Ryder Cup intentions and LIV Golf relegation.

Would the ideal FedEx Cup playoff format only reward those who perform every week and not get boosts from regular-season performance? / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Welcome back to SI Golf’s Fact or Fiction, where we’re multitasking our fantasy football drafts with golf.

Once again, we’re here to debate a series of statements for writers and editors to declare as “Fact” or “Fiction” along with a brief explanation. Responses may also (occasionally) be “Neutral” since there's a lot of gray area in golf.

Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf X account.

Rory McIlroy missed the FedEx St. Jude yet remained second in points, an indictment of the FedEx Cup playoffs. The best solution is to use a straight-elimination format in the playoffs and not have regular-season points carry over once the field is set.

Bob Harig: FACT. Although I don’t necessarily think that is the only way to do it. How they re-do the Tour Championship—this seems like a one-year bridge—might have an in impact. But as I wrote Monday, an easy fix is to simply to make the first two events about qualifying for the next one. Beat 20 guys each time and you move on. Simple .

Jeff Ritter: FICTION. Rory skipping the opener dinged the Memphis event, but as we have previously painstakingly detailed, the key to saving the playoffs is to completely tear down and reboot the finale at East Lake.

Max Schreiber: FICTION. It’s not a terrible idea, but something seems wrong by having Scottie Scheffler, who has won four times this year, and the same footing as J.T. Poston, who has only one top 10 this season. Even in  the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, the No. 1 seed plays the lowest seed. Scheffler and McIlroy deserve some sort of benefit entering the playoffs. 

John Schwarb: FACT. The Tour tries too hard to protect the regular season while also conducting “playoffs,” and I’m not saying that Scottie and Rory don’t deserve a virtual bye into the Tour Championship. But fans love do-or-die drama and making the best players fight through the first two rounds of the playoffs would be riveting. And if they don’t make it, it doesn’t diminish what they did all year. The playoffs need to be a stand-alone thing.    

Keegan Bradley remains inside the top 12 in U.S. Ryder Cup points. If he’s going to be a playing captain, he should announce it now and get it out of the way.

Bob Harig: FICTION. It’s possible Bradley doesn’t know. His play has fallen off recently and 10th in points is tedious. The view here is he is still one of the best U.S. players but he and his assistants should wait it out and examine all options..

Jeff Ritter: FICTION. I don’t think a grand announcement this week helps the U.S. team, and it would create even more distractions for Bradley. Also, what if he rolls out to the driving range next week and gets the shanks? We've all seen "Tin Cup," right? My point is the golf games are fickle, and I'm not certain Bradley is in top form right at this moment. He should make all of his captain's picks after the Tour Championship.

Max Schreiber: FICTION. It’d be even more of a distraction if he announced it now, then goes on to play poorly the next two weeks. First, at least, let’s see if he can move up in the standings these next two weeks and become an automatic qualifier. 

John Schwarb: FACT. The PGA of America likes its scripted team announcements but Keegan has to know what he’s doing, regardless of how he fares the rest of the playoffs. At this point I think it’s worth answering that storyline and moving on (or trying to).

LIV Golf’s final individual tournament is this week outside Indianapolis and Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter are on the bubble of relegation. Having a big name drop out for poor performance would be a good look for LIV. 

Bob Harig: FACT. Not having it happen to date has been among the many criticisms of the LIV Golf format. Not only do they need to relegate names off the league, they should come up with a transparent system that allows for a two-year exemption based on play. That would alleviate a lot of concerns.

Jeff Ritter: FACT. If LIV wants to be viewed as a serious golf tour with a serious relegation policy, then it should let play on the course decide who’s relegated.

Max Schreiber: NEUTRAL. Sure, it adds suspense to the final few events, but is anyone turning on a LIV event to watch Ian Poulter or Henrik Stenson? It’s not like that many people are watching to begin with. 

John Schwarb: NEUTRAL. This system is important for LIV Golf’s legitimacy but if Stenson gets relegated out is there another former major champion with some name recognition who will replace him? That still matters for this four-year-old league.   

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