ATLANTA – Jon Rahm chose a bad moment to enter a mini slump.
The Masters champion led the FedEx Cup standings for 30 weeks in a row. However, after two middle-of the-pack finishes he dropped to fourth place heading into the Tour Championship. He began the final third leg of the Playoffs with 6 under. After a final-round score of 74, he fell to T-18 on the final FedEx Cup rankings. Rahm was passed by Adam Schenk despite winning four times and being the favorite for PGA Tour Player Of The Year. Schenk had not won a single tournament during the year.
Schenk finished ninth in the Tour Championship in a tie with five other players and earned $980,000. This brings his season’s earnings to $5.8million.
Rahm did not speak to the press after his Sunday finish, but he spoke about his feelings regarding the FedEx Cup before.
He said, “It is easier to understand.” “I don’t think this is the best solution we could come up with. I believe I have already expressed my disapproval of the fact that you could be ranked number one. FedEx Cup. You can win all tournaments up to this one. If you have a bad weekend, you will forever be known for your 30th place in the FedEx Cup. “I don’t believe that’s fair.”
If you told me Adam Schenk’s (T-9) finish would be ahead of Jon Rahm’s (T-18) at the FedEx Cup I wouldn’t have believed you.
Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak 28 August 2023
Rahm has a valid point. Schenk’s finish above Rahm is like the New York Giants defeating the undefeated New England Patriots at the Super Bowl.
Rory McIlroy for example has no issue with Rahm falling down the FedEx rankings despite the fact that he had the most wins during the regular season.
A basketball team can go 82-0 but still lose in the first round. Mcilroy stated that if that is the kind of competitive environment we are trying to create, I would say that Jon Rahm was the second-place finisher in the Comcast Top 10 for the regular season. “I believe that this might become more common as time goes on, and more money is put into the regular-season as well.” It’s like two separate events, or two different competitions.
You have the regular season, and then there are the playoffs. “I think everyone tries putting them together the same way, but they’re really like regular season and this is like a sprint to the end.”
