This is where the last four FedEx Cup winners started the Tour Championship

After nearly clinching his third BMW Championship win of the year last week, Scottie Scheffler will start this week’s FedEx Cup Playoff finale on pole position in the Tour Championship.

Scheffler is the first player since the Tour Championship switched to the staggered start format in 2019 to start the event 10-under in consecutive seasons, but in only two of the format’s four years has the leader going into the week held up to win the tournament. Rory McIlroy is the only player to win the FedEx Cup without starting the Tour Championship, having done so twice.

McIlroy starts this week at seven under, two better than when he won the 2019 Tour Championship in the format’s first year and three better than last year. McIlroy started the 2022 Tour Championship at four under before opening a triple bogey on the first two holes to annihilate his starting shots. He then played the remaining 70 holes in 21 Under, defeating Scheffler and Sungjae Im by a margin.

In 2019, McIlroy beat Xander Schauffele by four at 18 under while starting the week at five under. Like last year, McIlroy would have won the event without the handicap strokes, scoring the low gross score of 72 holes in both wins.

When Dustin Johnson won by three shots over Schauffele and Justin Thomas in 2020, Schauffele, a noted East Lake fan, actually beat Johnson by four shots, not counting the staggered start. The next year, Jon Rahm and Kevin Na both beat Patrick Cantlay by a margin of three, but Cantlay’s starting advantage was enough to win the FedEx Cup by a margin over Rahm.

Here are the last four FedEx Cup winners with their final and starting results for the week of the Tour Championship.

Winner 2022: Rory McIlroy

Starting place in the FedEx Cup: 7
starting score: -4
Final score (with punches): -21

Winner 2021: Patrick Cantlay

Starting place in the FedEx Cup: 1
starting score: -10
Final score (with punches): -21

2020 Winner: Dustin Johnson

Starting place in the FedEx Cup: 1
starting score: -10
Final score (with punches): -21

2019 Winner: Rory McIlroy

Starting place in the FedEx Cup: 6
starting score: -5
Final score (with punches): -18

What will the winner’s starting position be this year? Below are the 2023 Tour Championship starting positions with FedEx Cup rankings.

2023 Tour Championship starting places

1.Scottie Scheffler, -10
2. Viktor Hovland, -8
3.Rory McIlroy, -7
4. Jon Rahm, -6
5. Lucas Glover, -5
6. Max Homa, -4
7.Patrick Cantlay, -4
8.Brian Harman, -4
9 Wyndham Clark, -4
10. Matt Fitzpatrick, -4
11.Tommy Fleetwood, -3
12.Russell Henley, -3
13.Keegan Bradley, -3
14.Rickie Fowler, -3
15.Xander Schauffele, -3
16.Tom Kim, -2
17. Sungjae Im, -2
18.Tony Finau, -2
19. Corey Conners, -2
20. Si Woo Kim, -2
21.Taylor Moore, -1
22. Nick Taylor, -1
23. Adam Schenk, -1
24. Collin Morikawa, -1
25.Jason Day, -1
26. Sam Burns, E
27. Emiliano Grillo, E
28. Tyrrell Hatton, E
29. Jordan Spieth, E
30. Sepp Straka, E

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an editorial assistant at GOLF. A native of Pennsylvania, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University with degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program as head coach. Jack is also still *trying* to stay competitive with the local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack worked for two years at a television station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a multimedia journalist/reporter, but also as a producer, host and even host of the weather report. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.