Scottie Scheffler knocks Rory McIlroy off top

• Scottie Scheffler won the PGA Championship and became the new FedEx Cup points leader.
• Scheffler overtook Rory McIlroy, who had led for nine weeks after wins at The Players Championship and the Masters.
• Scheffler’s lead is narrow, with only 12 points separating him from McIlroy.

There’s a new FedEx Cup points leader, and the last time he took the lead on the PGA Tour’s season-long race in 2024, he never let go. 

Scottie Scheffler rose from fourth to first by winning the PGA Championship on May 18 at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., netting 750 points to jump Justin Thomas, Sepp Straka and Rory McIlroy. 

McIlroy had led the points race nine weeks in a row, the longest streak on the PGA Tour this season. He took the lead by winning The Players Championship and gave himself an even bigger cushion by winning the Masters. 

But since Augusta (where Scheffler finished fourth), each player has made three starts. McIlroy tied for 12^th at the Zurich Classic, for seventh at the Truist Championship and for 47^th at Quail Hollow. Scheffler tied for eighth at the RBC Heritage and won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and the PGA. 

Scheffler took the FedEx Cup points lead last year by winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational and he held it until the end, winning the Tour Championship at East Lake for the FedEx Cup Championship. That was a stretch of 24 weeks at No. 1. 

Scottie Scheffler’s margin is thin

Scheffler’s lead over McIlroy is precarious, by only 12 points. But McIlroy isn’t playing this week in the Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth and if Scheffler makes the cut, he will add to that lead. 

Scheffler leads Straka by 549 points, so he will hold onto his lead at least going into The Memorial in two weeks. 

Who has led the FedEx Cup this season? 

• Hideki Matsuyama (four weeks) 
• Sepp Straka (three weeks) 
• Ludvig Åberg (three weeks) 
• Rory McIlroy (nine weeks) 

Who else made big FedEx Cup moves? 

• Davis Riley, up 52 spots (94^th to 42^nd), tie for second at the PGA 
• Matt Fitzpatrick, up 39 spots (117^th to 78^th), tie for eighth at the PGA 
• Jhonattan Vegas, up 21 spots (60^th to 39^th), tie for fifth at the PGA 
• Taylor Pendrith, up 20 spots (50^th to 30^th), tie for fifth at the PGA 
• J.T. Poston, up 19 spots (56^th to 37^th), tie for fifth at the PGA 

PGA Tour FedEx Cup points leaders

Through PGA Championship 

• 1. Scottie Scheffler 2678 
• 2. Rory McIlroy 2666 
• 3. Sepp Straka 2129 
• 4. Justin Thomas 2044 
• 5. Andrew Novak 1438 
• 6. Russell Henley 1418 
• 7. Corey Conners 1402 
• 8. Shane Lowry 1303 
• 9. Ludvig Åberg 1286 
• 10. Harris English 1268 
• 11. Collin Morikawa 1241 
• 12. Maverick McNealy 1226 
• 13. J.J. Spaun 1171 
• 14. Tommy Fleetwood 1132 
• 15. Daniel Berger 1093 
• 16. Hideki Matsuyama 1057 
• 17. Sungjae Im 1043 
• 18. Brian Harman 1042 
• 19. Justin Rose 1038 
• 20. Patrick Cantlay 1031 
• 21. Ben Griffin 1003 
• 22. Thomas Detry 949 
• 23. Jacob Bridgeman 934 
• 24. Michael Kim 932 
• 25. Nick Taylor 929 
• 26. Lucas Glover 865 
• 27. Tom Hoge 836 
• 28. Keegan Bradley 798 
• 29. Joe Highsmith 788 
• 30. Taylor Pendrith 783