Would you like to win $15 million in one weekend? No, me neither. But, for some reason, people do. And the PGA Tour gives 30 players the chance to make history and win this prize. Maybe you are new to golf or a casual fan, but the FedEx Cup can be confusing for some. Heck, for while it was confusing for everyone. Before we get into the best of the FedEx Cup, here’s a little explanation of the format.
The PGA Tour rewards consistency with this season-long competition. Winning one tournament will not guarantee a spot in the Tour Championship, although it helps.
Throughout the PGA Tour season, various tournaments are given a certain amount of FedEx Cup points to divide out to the leaderboard. For the majority of the tournaments through the season, the winner will receive 500 points, with each player lower on the leaderboard receiving less. The exceptions include World Golf Championship events, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial Tournament, and the Genesis Invitational, all receiving 550 points for the winner. The 600 point tournaments include all four major championships and the Players Championship.
The players that rank in the top 30 in the standings will advance to the Tour Championship. Each of them will have a chance to play for the grand prize of $15 million.
2007-2018
In 2007, the PGA Tour and FedEx partnered to reward the best players of the season. The prize for playing the best golf, consistently, was a prize of $10 million. The original format of the playoffs consisted of four tournaments for players to earn extra points going into the final tournament. When entering the Tour Championship, the points mattered for everyone outside of the top five in standings. If a player in the top five won the tournament, they win the $10 million prize. If someone outside the top five wins, they will need the top of the standings to struggle. The lower on the standings, the lower they need the leaders to finish.
Here are a few of the top performances and finishes to the season from 2007-2018, prior to a major change in the tournament.
2009
In 2009, the PGA Tour saw two players in the winner’s circle. Through the 2009 season, Tiger Woods did what Tiger Woods does and dominated in tournament, giving him the chance to enter the week in first place. Phil Mickelson entered the week in 14th place, making his odds of winning the FedEx Cup small. But Phil didn’t back down from the challenge. Phil went on to win the Tour Championship, but because he needed the leaders to struggle, he was unable to win the $10 million prize. Tiger Woods finished in second place, earning his second FedEx Cup Championship in the first three years of the event.
2011
Entering the week at 25th in the standings usually means you don’t have a chance to win the large prize. Although you can the tournament, it doesn’t mean much unless the leaders struggle all week as well. That’s exactly what happened in 2011 when Bill Haas entered the week needing to play well and a little luck on his side. He had both. Haas finished the tournament at eight-under par and winning in a playoff versus Hunter Mahan. Only one of the top five in the points standings entering the week finished inside the top ten, giving Bill Haas exactly what he needed to win $10 million.
Haas had this infamous shot at the 17th in order to save par in the final round.
2016
Rory McIlroy entered the 2016 Tour Championship in sixth place, meaning that he would need to win the tournament and have everyone ahead of him struggle during the week. Rory played a strong week of twelve-under par, tying Kevin Chappell and Ryan Moore, forcing a three-way playoff. Because Dustin Johnson, the FedEx Cup leader, finished outside of the top five for the week, all Rory had to do was win and he is the FedEx Cup Champion. It took four holes, but McIlroy finally prevailed, winning the first FedEx Cup Championship of his career.
This classic shot at the par-four sixteenth hole helped him tied the lead late in the final round.
2018
In 2018, the Tour Championship had one of the oddest and coolest finishes in its history. Tiger Woods entered the week in twentieth place in points, while Justin Rose entered in second place. The finish to this tournament is one of the reasons for a major re-do in the Tour Championship rules. Tiger Woods would win the Tour Championship with hundreds following along (literally). But Justin Rose won the FedEx Cup and the $10 million prize. With two people in the winner’s circle, the PGA Tour decided that the format needed to change.
2019-Present
As of 2019, going into the Tour Championship, the point system no longer matters. At the start of the week, the leader in FedEx Cup points standings now starts the tournament at -10, second place is -8, third place is -7, fourth place is -6, fifth is -5, and so on.
Because there were two people standing in the winner’s circle, the PGA Tour wanted to make it one. Now, if you win the Tour Championship, you win the money.
Another change to the playoff format included removing one tournament. While it was four for a majority of time, the PGA Tour found that leaders in points would skip one of the events to rest because it was unnecessary, leading to the change to three tournaments. The current lineup gives the top 125 players in points the chance to play the Northern Trust, the top 70 players the chance to play in the BMW Championship, while the top 30 move on to the Tour Championship.
An additional change gives players motivation toward the end of the regular season. If a player qualifies for the Northern Trust, the player is automatically granted their PGA Tour eligibility card for next season. This may not mean much to the players at the top, but it can change the lives of the players at the bottom.
2019 FedEx Cup
McIlroy would go on to have a top 10 finish at the Northern Trust and follow it up with a top 20 finish at the BMW Championship. This put him in fifth place in the FedEx Cup standings, giving him a start at five-under at the Tour Championship. It wouldn’t matter much. Rory finished the week at eighteen-under par and thirteen-under for the tournament. This made him the second player ever to win the FedEx Cup twice. Tiger Woods won it in 2007 and 2009.
2020 FedEx Cup
Note: A year in review about Dustin Johnson’s season is coming in the next week. This will be a summary of the Tour Championship, with details of his FedEx Cup run coming soon.
Dustin Johnson entered the Tour Championship with two wins on the season, including one of the tournaments in the playoffs. Entering the week as the favorite and having a two-stroke lead, Johnson never relinquished it. He would go on to finish at twenty-one-under par, winning the tournament by three strokes and locking up a Player of the Year trophy. Sometimes it’s just too easy for him.
I hope this answered your questions on the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and had some fun along the way. As we get into the swing of the 2020-21 season look for more of “the best of” for tournaments. If you want me to cover a specific topic, tournament, or player, leave them in the comments or let me know on Twitter @Dnut66.
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