Playoff Golf: 3 Weeks of Pressure

08/13/2023

By: Marissa Kasch

The FedExCup Playoffs Primer: 3 Weeks of Golf’s Postseason, Points & Payouts Starts Now (By Marissa Kasch)

We have good news and bad news. Bad news: Golf’s majors have concluded for the year, culminating with Brian Harman’s victory at Royal Liverpool. Good news: The conclusion of The Open can only mean one thing — It’s time for the FedExCup Playoffs. Let’s get ready for three weeks of postseason knockout golf with a quick refresher.

FedExCup Playoffs, Explained: FedExCup points are awarded throughout the season based on placement in PGA Tour events. The 70 players with the most points are eligible to compete over the next three weekends. The tournament features three events and progressive cuts.

St. Jude Championship — 70 Golfers (TPC Southwind, Memphis, TN)
BMW Championship — 50 Golfers (Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields, IL)
Tour Championship — 30 Golfers (East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, GA)

The competition in the FedExCup is fierce, considering that only 70 players qualify. In other words, gaining eligibility is no easy feat, and winning is an entirely different monster.

The points distribution is fairly simple until the FedExCup Playoffs start. The first two events in the tournament award 2,000 points to the winner – significantly more than regular season events. With such a significant amount of points up for grabs in the first two events, once you qualify for the tournament, you’re never out of it. The third and final event, the TOUR Championship, employs a more familiar scoring system centered around stroke play to determine the winner.

So, with all this talk about points and qualifying, where do your favorite players stand? Well, the top-10 qualifiers shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. We have winners from The Players Championship (Scottie Scheffler), the U.S. Open (Wyndham Clark), The Masters (Jon Rahm) and The Open Championship (Brian Harman). The only major champion missing from the field is Brooks Koepka because LIV golfers cannot compete in the FedExCup.

FedExCup Points Standings

1. Jon Rahm — 3,320 points

2. Scottie Scheffler — 3,146 points

3. Rory McIlroy — 2,304 points

4. Max Homa —- 2,128 points

5. Wyndham Clark — 1,944 points

6. Brian Harman — 1,827 points

7. Viktor Hovland — 1,795 points

8. Keegan Bradley — 1,774 points

9. Rickie Fowler — 1,732 points

10. Tony Finau — 1,655 points
Full FedExCup Points Standings

Favorites

Whoever wins this tournament will receive the honor of becoming the 2023 Tour Champion (oh, and $18 million). Will it be a consistently great golfer like Jon Rahm? Will it be a fan favorite like Scottie Scheffler? Will it be a dark horse like Rickie Fowler looking to cement his legacy with an unlikely comeback? Here’s what Vegas says: J. Rahm (+285), S. Scheffler (+300), R. McIlroy (+500), M. Homa (+1200), R. Fowler (+1400), V. Hovland (+1400), P. Cantlay (+1800), X. Schauffele (+2000), W. Clark (+2200), T. Finau (+2200), C. Morikawa (+2200)

Stroke Adjustment for Final Event

Though the final round at East Lake uses stroke-play scoring, it’s anything but standard. After points have been awarded for the St. Jude and BMW Championships, they are wiped out and replaced with stroke adjustments heading into the final round. The No.1-ranked player will tee off at East Lake at 10-under par. The rest of the stroke adjustment rules are written below.

No. 1-ranked player: 10-under par

No. 2-ranked player: 8-under par

No. 3-ranked player: 7-under par

No. 4-ranked player: 6-under par

No. 5-ranked player: 5-under par

No. 6-10 players: 4-under par

No. 11-15: 3-under par

No. 16-20: 2-under par

No. 21-25: 1-under par

No. 26-30: Even par

The winner is then determined by their final score at East Lake after the stroke adjustment. As we can see, though points are no longer in play at this point, they hold significance until the very end.

It’s tee time at St. Jude! Three weeks of golf playoffs begin now…

St. Jude Championship Tee Times (Today)

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