This week, the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin at the Northern Trust at Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, New York. So, how did we get here? Since the beginning of the FedEx Cup, even among the most passionate of golf fans, there’s been confusion around how the season-long race works, and how a player can ultimately win the top prize at the Tour Championship. Hopefully, we can answer some of those questions for you.
The FedEx Cup is a trophy awarded to the player who ends the season in first place of the FedEx Cup standings.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs are a series of four $US8 million tournaments that are played at the end of the US PGA Tour season and determine the season-long champion. The 2016-’17 schedule is as follows:
August 24-27 – Northern Trust at Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, New York
September 1-4 – Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts
September 14-17 – BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Illinois
September 21-24 – Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia
Throughout the US Tour season, players earn FedEx Cup points based on their results in tournaments. The points determine where you are in the standings, and if you accumulate enough, you can qualify for the playoffs.
Players who finish in the top-125 (plus ties) of the FedEx Cup standings at the end of the season, which wrapped up last weekend at the Wyndham Championship, qualify for the playoffs.
The FedEx Cup began in 2007.
The regular season is a total of 43 events, beginning with the 2016 Safeway Open and ending with the 2017 Wyndham Championship.
No, the top-125 only qualify for the Northern Trust, the first leg of the playoffs. From there, the top-100 players in the standings at the end of the Northern Trust qualify for the Dell Technologies Championship. The top-70 at the end of the Dell Technologies Championship qualify for the BMW Championship, and then the top-30 at the end of the BMW advance to the Tour Championship.
FedEx Cup points are awarded at four levels, and they place a premium on victories and high finishes. A tour victory is worth 500 FedEx Cup points, while the four Majors and the Players Championship award 600 points to their champions. For the four World Golf Championships, winners are awarded 550 points, and additional US Tour events played the same week as a Major or WGC award 300 points to the winner.
For a full look at how FedEx Cup points re distributed throughout the season, visit this page on PGATour.com.
Players carry whatever points they made during the season into the first three playoff events. At the Tour Championship, points reset for the final 30 players, and all have a chance to win the FedEx Cup. For a look at how the points are reset at the Tour Championship, visit this page on PGATour.com.
Yes, the FedEx Cup points quadruple at the playoff events.
Yes, it is possible for a player to have accumulated enough points during the season to be able to skip a playoff event and still qualify for the next event. In this case, there are no alternate positions and the field will be shortened and points from the missing positions are not distributed.
The winners of the FedEx Cup since its inception in 2007 are as follows:
Tiger Woods (2007, 2009)
Vijay Singh (2008)
Jim Furyk (2010)
Bill Haas (2011)
Brandt Snedeker (2012)
Henrik Stenson (2013)
Billy Horschel (2014)
Jordan Spieth (2015)
Rory McIlroy (2016)
Yes, in addition to the trophy and the prizemoney, the overall FedEx Cup champion receives a bonus of $US10 million and a five-year exemption on the US PGA Tour. Bonuses are also awarded to the remaining players in the top-30 that qualified for the Tour Championship, including $3 million to second place, $2 million to third place, $1.5 million to fourth place and $1 million to fifth. A total of $US35 million is given out in bonus money. To see what the rest of the top-30 makes, visit this page on PGATour.com.
Starting in 2013, players who qualify for the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs retain their playing privileges, also known as “tour card”, for the following season on the US Tour. Prior to 2013, this was determined by a player’s position on the moneylist.
Players who finish between 126th and 150th in the FedEx Cup standings receive conditional status on the main tour, which they can improve by performing well in the Web.com Tour Finals, its own series of tournaments played during September.
Hideki Matsuyama is leading the FedEx Cup race heading into the Northern Trust with a total of 2,869 points. The rest of the top-10 is as follows: Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner and Brian Harman. The highest-ranked Australian is Marc Leishman in 14th spot.
