“Playoffs?! You talkin’ bout playoffs???” Yes Jim we are talking about the playoffs! As the PGA Tour heads into a new era in 2028, this week kicks off the twentieth iteration of the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs, which will be its second to last. Starting in 2028 the PGA Tour will shift to an A Tier/B Tier format that will radically transform how regular season golf looks as we know it. How this season finishes will have a radical impact on which players populate each of those tiers. This week’s St. Jude in Memphis is comprised of the top 70 in the FedEx Cup points standings from this past regular season. The top 50 after this week will then be exempt for all Signature Events. Then the top 30 will earn a full two year exemption as well as entry into all four majors next season. With that being said, earning top 50 status after this week will put any player into pole position to qualify for the A Tier Championship series in 2028, simply from having access to higher point events in 2027.
From the top it is hard to look away from Scottie Scheffler. Considering Scottie was priced up on Draftkings north of $15k during the 3M a few weeks ago, his price tag in a field as strong as this feels fitting. While Scottie has only registered one win this season back at the Amex in January, he is still the number one player in the world and continues to hit it better than anyone on planet earth. What is most comforting about Scottie is his remarkable consistency. You will find from time to time top players skip a beat and miss a cut here and there, or even play decent on their way to a top twenty finish. That’s not Scottie. When he shows up he is guaranteed to be in the mix. Looking at this past year since the Masters, Scottie has teed it up eleven times and failed to crack the top four just THREE times. He is immaculate tee to green and when the putter cooperates he is near unbeatable. The market may be souring on him due to some recent poor showings, but he’s still easily the best player in the world right now.
Slightly further down sits Sam Burns. Burns for his career has always been known as one of the best putters in the world, but never had the tee to green skill to contend. However, he made some major improvements in this area to vault him into major contender status this season. Burns has become remarkably consistent compared to past years, both off the tee and in approach, which has been a major contributor to his success this season. What’s more encouraging is how Burns feasts on par 4s. Burns leads the Tour in overall strokes gained on par 4s, while ranking 12th and 3rd in both long par 4 categories, which the pros should see a strong helping of this week. For a guy who rolls it as well as he does, leveling up to 2nd in approach and 5th tee to green is a solid recipe for success against the best in the world. He has legit upside to win this.
Another one of the top guys in the first round of the playoffs is Collin Morikawa, who seems to be rounding into form at the perfect time after struggling with a back injury for much of the season. Over his last three starts, including two majors, Morikawa has finished 17th at the U.S. Open, 3rd at the Travelers, and 18th at The Open. Morikawa has also had some success at TPC Southwind in the past, finishing 22nd in each of the last two years while also posting a 5th-place finish back in 2022. His elite ball striking makes him an excellent fit here, where finding fairways and consistently hitting quality approach shots will be key to success. In this field, Collin ranks 6th in Approach while also ranking 1st in Birdie or Better over the last six months. If he continues to rack up birdies, he could outscore guys that finish a shot or two ahead of him on the leaderboard. These numbers show that not only have his irons been dialed in, but he has also been able to capitalize on the opportunities he creates. With his DraftKings price sitting as only the 8th highest in the field, Morikawa provides a little more lineup flexibility while still offering plenty of upside. With his recent form, course fit, and elite iron play, he makes for one of the better upper-tier options this week.
In the mid-tier this week, we have Russell Henley, who has been playing some of the most consistent golf on Tour this season, especially of late. Since his win at the Charles Schwab back in May, Henley has finished 22nd, 65th, 12th, 9th, and 20th, showing very few signs of slowing down. Henley has also played TPC Southwind well over the last three years, finishing 6th, 30th, and 17th last year, where he opened and closed the tournament with rounds of 66. While he may not make birdies at the same rate as some of the other players in this range, what separates Henley is his ability to avoid mistakes and scramble when he gets out of position. He ranks 1st in the field in Driving Accuracy and 1st in Scrambling, two strengths that should translate extremely well at this course. He also ranks 2nd in the field on approaches from 150-175 yards, so if he continues finding fairways, he should give himself plenty of opportunities with his irons to create scoring chances. With his recent form, strong course history, and ability to limit big numbers, Henley stands out as one of the safer mid-tier options this week while still offering plenty of top-10 upside.
This week in the value section, we have Jacob Bridgeman, who continues to put together an impressive 2026 season and enters the week ranked 13th in the FedEx Cup standings. He has been extremely consistent of late, finishing T28 or better in each of his last three starts, and now returns to TPC Southwind, where he finished T17 in his first appearance last season. Bridgeman is another golfer whose iron play and short game make him a strong fit for this course. He ranks 4th in the field on approaches from 150-175 yards, while also ranking 6th Around the Green, 6th in Putting, and 8th in Birdie or Better. Getting a golfer in this lower price range with Bridgeman’s combination of consistency and upside makes him a great value play this week. With no cut and four guaranteed rounds, he should have plenty of opportunities to score, giving your lineups a strong mix of safety and top-end potential.
Also in the value section, we really like Ryan Gerard again this week. We wrote him up last week expecting him to clean up against a weaker field, but his short game and putter did not cooperate. But as we have seen with Gerard this year, while his skillset fits a shorter track, he tends to excel at hard golf courses that emphasize ball striking and putting. Currently sitting 16th in the FedEx Cup, Gerard has little danger of falling outside the top 50, but padding that position is the key here. Gerard comes into this week with four second place finishes on the season but no wins to show for it. He ranks 9th in overall par 4 scoring and provides a major discount compared to the other highly skilled players that we think could contend.
Lastly, we have Alex Fitzpatrick. Alex has had a breakout season this year that we didn’t expect at all. It is usually the rookies or players in their early 20s that burst on the scene, like we saw last week in Michael Brennan, but rarely is it a somewhat seasoned European Tour vet who is also the brother of one of the best players in the world. People gave Fitz some flack for earning his status through the Zurich team event with Matt as his partner, but prior to that win Alex won at arguably the hardest course the DP World Tour sees every year at the Indian Open and sported a track record of high finishes leading up to his win. He continued that play through the late major season with made cuts at the PGA, US Open, and The Open as well as top 10 finishes at both The Memorial and Travelers. He has proven this season that he can hang with the best on Tour and for his price should be a great asset to slot into the back end of any lineup.