Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
Let’s discuss how the PGA Tour puts on its annual FedEx Cup playoffs as the first of three events take place this week.
Welcome to Playing Through’s daily ritual — Golf Talk Today.
Each day, the crew will discuss various elements of the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.
Today, we are breaking down the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup.
With the playoffs beginning this week, I wanted to explain the FedEx Cup and its massive purses.
What is the FedEx Cup?
The FedEx Cup is the PGA Tour’s season-long race. Players accumulate points to make the playoffs, a three-event series that determines the FedEx Cup champion.
The 2024 FedEx Cup race began in January and ended after the Wyndham Championship in August. In all, there are 36 events that players can participate in to earn points.
Most tournaments award 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner, but there are exceptions to that number. The Zurich Classic, a team event, awards 400 to each winner.
There are also additional events that give winners 300 points.
The PGA Tour has 15 events in 2024 that award 700 or more points.
Tournaments that award 700+ FedEx Cup points:
— Players Championship (750)
— Masters Tournament (750)
— PGA Championship (750)
— U.S. Open (750)
— The Open (750)
— All 8 Signature Events (700)
— FedEx St. Jude Championship (2,000)
— BMW Championship (2,000)
The FedEx Cup Playoffs
There are three tournaments that make up the FedEx Cup playoffs.
It begins with the Top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings, and the field gets progressively smaller.
— FedEx St. Jude Championship (Aug. 15-18); Top 70 field
TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn.
— BMW Championship (Aug. 22-25); Top 50 field
Castle Pines Golf Club, Castle Rock, Col.
— Tour Championship (Aug. 29- Sept. 1); Top 30 field
East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Ga.
The first two events are relatively normal, but there are no cuts after 36 holes.
The Tour Championship, though, features FedEx Cup Starting Strokes. This format is a staggered, stroke-based system representing where players finish in the FedEx Top 30.
How the FedEx Cup Starting Strokes work:
1. -10
2. -8
3. -7
4. -6
5. -5
6-10. -4
11-15. -3
16-20. -2
21-25. -1
26-30. E
Former FedEx Cup winners:
2023: Viktor Hovland
2022: Rory McIlroy
2021: Patrick Cantlay
2020: Dustin Johnson
2019: Rory McIlroy
2018: Justin Rose
2017: Justin Thomas
2016: Rory McIlroy
2015: Jordan Spieth
2014: Billy Horschel
2013: Henrik Stenson
2012: Brandt Snedeker
2011: Bill Haas
2010: Jim Furyk
2009: Tiger Woods
2008: Vijay Singh
2007: Tiger Woods
FedEx Cup Playoffs Massive Purses:
There is over $100 million in the bonus pool for the FedEx Cup playoffs, with the FedEx Cup champion winning $25 million.
For the first two tournaments, the purse is $20 million.
The money does not stop there. The Top 10 in the FedEx Cup standings is the Comcast Business Tour Top 10, and they receive large bonuses on top of whatever they win in the playoffs.
Comcast Business Tour Top 10 Bonuses
1: $8 million
2: $6 million
3: $4.8 million
4: $4.4 million
5: $4 million
6: $3.4 million
7: $2.8 million
8: $2.4 million
9: $2.2 million
10: $2 million
FedEx Cup Fall:
The first FedEx Cup Fall series began September 2023. It features seven tournaments to finalize the Top 125 and determine who will keep playing opportunities on the PGA Tour.
Players ranked No. 51 and lower carry their points from the regular season and first playoff event. They will continue to add points through the seven events to determine their eligibility for the 2025 season.
The Nos. 51-60 in the standings after the FedEx Cup Fall series will also qualify for the first two Signature Events after the Sentry.
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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.
