Players have been accumulating FedExCup points since the wraparound season last fall, and the 125 who racked up the most will face off this week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship – the first event of the FedExCup playoffs.
As the first of three playoff tournaments, players begin this event with the points they earned over the past 11 months, but for 55 in the field, the ride will end in Memphis, as only the top 70 will move onto Wilmington, Delaware for the BMW Championship, the second leg of the playoffs. Those outside the top 70 after Memphis will be eliminated from the playoffs.
A large portion of the field will have enough FedExCup points to move onto round two, regardless of what happens at this week’s event, but even those who have locked up later round berths will not be short on motivation.
Cup points are tripled for the first two playoff rounds, meaning the player who takes top billing at TPC Southwind will earn a cool 2,000 points. To put that in perspective, only six players have tallied more than 2,000 points during the entire season, so there is a great deal of potential for playoff movement.
A win here makes a player a lock to reach the Tour Championship at East Lake, regardless of whether that winner is No. 1 Scottie Scheffler or Rickie Fowler (No. 125).
Perhaps the best example is Heath Slocum, who entered the 2009 playoffs at No. 124, but after a first-round victory, moved up to third-place.
Those top spots are important, especially now as the Tour Championship features a handicap-based system (officially called FedEx Cup Starting Strokes) for the fourth time.
The FedEx Cup points leader after the first two legs begins the Tour Championship at 10-under par. The No. 2 player will start at 8 under. The No. 3 player starts at 7 under; the No. 4 player starts at 6 under; the No. 5 player starts at 5 under. Players 6-10 start at 4 under; players 11-15 start at 3 under; players 16-20 start at 2 under; players 21-25 start at 1 under; and players 26-30 start at even par.
In the finale at East Lake, the player with the lowest aggregate score over 72 holes when added to his handicap strokes is crowned the FedExCup champion.
The FedExCup is considered an official PGA Tour victory, but the money and points earned is not part of the historical record of a player’s statistics. The FedExCup champion’s $15 million prize money is considered a “bonus.” Further, the Official World Golf Ranking awards ranking points based on the gross-score finishes.
FedExCup Playoff Schedule
- FedEx St. Jude Championship (8/11-14)
- BMW Championship (8/18-21)
- The TOUR Championship (8/25-28)
