"Scottie Scheffler deserves to be much further ahead"- Co-leader Hideki Matsuyama opens up about FedEx Cup system, says he enjoys it
Hideki Matsuyama recently weighed in on the FedEx Cup system. After the second round, he is leading the FedEx St. Jude Championship along with Denny McCarthy. Both are tied at a score of 11-under-129.
In the opening round, Matsuyama shot three birdies and a bogey on the front nine. On the back nine, he carded four birdies and one bogey to land at 65. In the second round, Matsuyama dropped five birdies from holes one to nine and two birdies from holes 11 to 16 to finish at 64.
After the second round, the Japanese golfer attended a press conference where he was asked about the FedEx playoff structure for the PGA Tour season. In reply, Hideki Matsuyama said he liked the system. He also opined that Scottie Scheffler deserved a better place than T4 on the FedEx St. Jude Championship leaderboard.
“I like the system, especially where I am at. It's a little bit -- I don't know if unfair is the right word, but Scottie deserves to be much further ahead than just two strokes there at the TOUR Championship. With that in mind, it's tough for him, I think. But for me, I'm enjoying it,” Hideki Matsuyama said ( via ASAP Sports).
Matsuyama then talked about his second-round playing experience in the ongoing tournament.
“I guess the long answer is I missed a short putt there at 2, knocked it in the water at 4, but from that point on, I really played well and putted well,” the golfer said.
On Saturday (August 17), Hideki Matsuyama will gear up for the third round.
Besides Hideki Matsuyama, what are the leaderboard standings after the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship?
Hideki Matsuyama tops the leaderboard and Sam Burns is in third place with a 10-under. Nick Dunlap is in fifth place along with Justin Rose. Will Zalatoris is at T10 with a 6-under and Matt Fitzpatrick is at T13 with a 5-under. Brian Harman, Xander Schauffele, and Brendon Todd are also at T13. Here are the leaderboard standings after the second round of the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship:
- T1 Denny McCarthy -11
- T1 Hideki Matsuyama -11
- 3 Sam Burns -10
- 4 Scottie Scheffler -9
- T5 Nick Dunlap -8
- T5 Justin Rose -8
- T7 Viktor Hovland -7
- T7 Billy Horschel -7
- T7 Robert MacIntyre -7
- T10 Will Zalatoris -6
- T10 Erik van Rooyen -6
- T10 Chris Kirk -6
- T13 Tom Kim -5
- T13 Matt Fitzpatrick -5
- T13 Aaron Rai -5
- T13 Tony Finau -5
- T13 Brian Harman -5
- T13 Xander Schauffele -5
- T13 Brendon Todd -5
- T20 Christiaan Bezuidenhout -4
- T20 Nick Taylor -4
- T20 Harris English -4
- T20 Russell Henley -4
- T20 Ben Griffin -4
- T20 Tommy Fleetwood -4
- T20 Taylor Pendrith -4
- T27 Emiliano Grillo -3
- T27 Austin Eckroat -3
- T27 Akshay Bhatia -3
- T27 Wyndham Clark -3
- T27 Justin Thomas -3
- T27 Séamus Power -3
- T33 Alex Noren -2
- T33 Davis Thompson -2
- T33 Eric Cole -2
- T33 Sepp Straka -2
- T33 Adam Scott -2
- T33 Maverick McNealy -2
- T33 Shane Lowry -2
- T33 Min Woo Lee -2
- T33 Matthieu Pavon -2
- T42 Jason Day -1
- T42 Patrick Cantlay -1
- T42 Ludvig Åberg -1
- T42 Tom Hoge -1
- T42 Sahith Theegala -1
- T42 Cam Davis -1
- T42 Keegan Bradley -1
- T42 J.T. Poston -1
- T42 Corey Conners -1
- T42 Byeong Hun An -1
- T42 Victor Perez -1
- T42 Sungjae Im -1
- T42 Collin Morikawa -1
- T42 Peter Malnati -1