This week’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club marks the end of the 2022-23 PGA Tour regular season. And while many of the world’s best have their feet up resting for next week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship – the first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs – there are plenty of pros hoping to play their way into the field of 70.
Adam Scott is one of those players. He’s made the postseason every year since its inception back in 2007. The Aussie currently sits at No. 81 in the standings and holds a 5.2 percent chance to make it, according to the Tour.
Another major champion on the outside looking in is Shane Lowry, who followed up his T-19 at the Travelers Championship and T-12 at the Scottish Open by missing the cut at Royal Liverpool at the Open Championship.
The Irishman has made the postseason the last four seasons and currently sits at No. 76. According to the Tour, Lowry has a 14 percent chance to make the playoffs.
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Both players explained their mindsets coming into play in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Adam Scott on the first tee during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
“I feel like my game is good, so my game plan is to go out there and really focus. Sometimes when you’re up against it like this, there’s only really one outcome,” Scott said. “It’s like qualifying for a tournament except this is kind of a four-day qualifier for me. So sometimes that can really help you, it can intensify your focus and get the job done.
“I’ve been in similar positions before, kind of made a run last year through the playoffs and, hopefully, I can do that again.
“I’m really thinking about winning the tournament, not just trying to squeak in next week. I probably have to have a pretty high result to get in anyway, so I may as well think about winning, that’s what I would like to do the most this week.”
Scott was also asked about the playoffs slimming down from the top 125 to the top 70.
“I think it’s hard to like it when you’re on the outside, honestly. I generally do. I mean, that’s my easy answer.
“Looking at the whole FedExCup as a whole is a long, drawn-out thing, we could take the conversation in lots of directions, but I think it certainly intensifies the competition throughout the year and that’s probably a good thing.”
Shane Lowry acknowledges the crowd on the seventh green during the first round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Liverpool. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
“Yeah, obviously, I’m here because I want to make it into next week. I think it’s easy to sit here and go, ‘Oh, I just want to play well, I want to go out and try and win the tournament,’” Lowry said. “No, at the end of the day, I want to make it into next week, I want to make it into the Playoffs and I want to make a run at the Playoffs.
“You know, at this stage, I’m sitting here and I still feel like I can make the Tour Championship, so that’s an exciting place to be. I think obviously I would prefer if I was in a better spot coming in here, but I’m not. It is what it is now and I’m going to need a good week this week.
“Memphis is a course that I like playing and I’ve played all right in the past, so if I can get there, I know I can make a run there. Yeah, I certainly don’t want to be sitting home on my couch watching the playoffs. It’s a lot of motivation for me this week to play good golf and hopefully get my rewards at the end of it.”
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