Collin Morikawa, not Scottie Scheffler, would have won PGA Tour finale if not for format

Based on the players’ finishes in the FedEx Cup standings, the PGA Tour awards strokes ahead of the Tour Championship.

Scottie Scheffler started the week at 10-under for the third year.

However, who would have shot the lowest score if you took away the staggered format?

It was not Scheffler, but Morikawa. He shot the lowest 72-hole score among the Top 30 PGA Tour players in the field. The former Texas Longhorn would have finished inside the top three, but he would not have won without help.

Scheffler won the Tour Championship at 30-under overall with the help of those 10 extra strokes. Morikawa finished second behind him at 26-under overall with his 4-under start.

Morikawa shot a final round 5-under 66 and posted a 22-under gross score. Scheffler’s gross score would have been 20-under. Sahith Theegala signed for a 7-under 64, which would have given him a 21-under gross score. H would have taken home second place instead of third.

What would the leaderboard look like if they took away those starting scores?

1: Collin Morikawa — 66-63-67-66 (-22)
2: Sahith Theegala — 67-66-66-64 (-21)
3: Scottie Scheffler — 65-66-66-67 (-20)
4: Russell Henley — 67-71-67-62 (-17)
5: Adam Scott — 66-67-68-67 (-16)
6: Sungjae Im — 69-68-68-64 (-15)
7: Justin Thomas — 66-69-70-65 (-14)
T8: Wyndham Clark — 67-67-68-69 (-13)
T8: Taylor Pendrith — 66-69-70-66 (-13)
T8: Viktor Hovland — 69-71-65-66 (-13)
T8: Shane Lowry — 69-69-65-68 (-13)
12: Rory McIlroy — 69-69-68-66 (-12)
T13: Xander Schauffele — 70-64-71-68 (-11)
T13: Sam Burns — 67-68-68-70 (-11)
15: Matthieu Pavon — 67-69-71-67 (-10)
T16: Hideki Matsuyama — 70-70-68-67 (-9)
T16: Robert MacIntyre — 67-71-71-64 (-9)
T16: Tommy Fleetwood — 70-67-71-67 (-9)
T19: Patrick Cantlay — 69-70-71-67 (-7)
T19: Ludvig Åberg — 71-68-68-70 (-7)
T21: Byeong Hun An — 69-71-69-69 (-6)
T21: Aaron Rai — 66-70-72-70 (-6)
23: Billy Horschel — 73-69-71-66 (-5)
T24: Akshay Bhatia — 70-69-71-71 (-3)
T24: Tony Finau — 70-66-74-71 (-3)
T27: Keegan Bradley — 69-74-71-68 (-2)
T27: Sepp Straka — 68-70-71-73 (-2)
T29: Christiaan Bezuidenhout — 71-69-73-74 (+3)
T29: Tom Hoge — 69-68-76-74 (+3)

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.