FedEx Cup playoffs kick off with more changes
Published
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The FedEx Cup playoffs gets underway here this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and as with many of the past editions of the season-ending swing, there are changes.
This is the 17th edition of the PGA Tour’s postseason and over that time it’s had several facelifts.
In the early days, when there were four playoff events rather than the present three, players figured out they could skip a stop and still win. That led to a change.
Then there were modifications to the scoring system to try and make it easier for the best performers during the season to win rather than one who just had a hot couple of weeks. Sometimes point totals were reset; other times they carried forward.
In 2019, a significant alteration was brought in for the Tour Championship. It was known as FedEx Cup Starting Strokes and was designed to eliminate the possibility of one player capturing the FedEx Cup overall title and another winning the Tour Championship. Now, the top player heading into the tour’s final event starts at 10 under and the next player at eight under and so on through to position 30.
Most players aren’t keen on the idea, with some likening it to a net handicap event, but they also understand why it’s in place.
This year’s change is perhaps the most dramatic in playoff history. The starting field at TPC Southwind has been reduced to 70 from its previous 125. There will be 20 players eliminated this week and then the top 30 move on to the Tour Championship.
At each level there are rewards. The top 70 are assured of being in the top 125 for next season, meaning spots in all the full-field events and a place in the Players Championship.
The 20 who fail to advance to the second stage of the playoffs get to keep all their points as they move into the FedEx Fall, a seven-event series of tournaments that will finalize the priority ranking entering the 2024 season.
Being in that top 50 and playing in the BMW Championship may be the most important cut to make all season. It brings with it a healthy reward – an exemption into all the signature (formerly designated) events next season. Those tournaments carry massive purses, so the financial benefits are significant.
“I think we've all known since the start of this year that top 50 is really kind of important number,” stated Tyrrell Hatton, who is 17th on the FedEx Cup points list. “I think I'd be in the bracket with a fair few guys that have maybe played a little bit more than they typically would, just to try and give yourself the opportunities to make sure that you do finish in that top 50.”
Reaching the Tour Championship, reserved for the top 30, has a big basket of rewards too. It brings a two-year exemption as well as a spot in the field at the Masters and, traditionally, the U.S. Open and Open Championship (exemptions for those events for 2024 are yet to be finalized). There’s also the matter of the prize money: $18 million for the winner all the way down to $500,000 for finishing 30th.
Golfers have come from back in the pack to win the title as recently as last year. Rory McIlroy made up a six-shot deficit in the Starting Strokes to snatch the title away from Scottie Scheffler at the Tour Championship.
Scheffler and McIlroy sit in second and third place to start the playoffs behind Jon Rahm, the FedEx Cup points leader. The three not only top the standings but are the clear favourites on wagering sites. Together, they have combined for eight wins and 35 top-10 finishes this season. Their total prize money is just over $47 million.
“It's been a really good season,” said Rahm. “Accomplished a lot of things I set myself out to do this year, and one of them was to be sitting right here as No. 1.”
McIlroy has won a record three FedEx Cups, the first two over four events along with last year’s three-tournament offering. His strategy, he said, is consider the playoffs as a whole.
“I sort of treat it like a 12-round tournament,” he said. “You've got 12 rounds to play, and you're trying to go out there and get the best out of yourself for those 12 days.”
For the five Canadians in the field this week, it would pay to take a page from the NHL playoffs. Grind out every hole in every round and hope that it’s enough to advance through each stage.
What each accomplished in the regular season is certainly important, but the points in the playoffs quadruple in value with a win now worth 2,000 points up from 500. That results in a lot of movement in the postseason.
Nick Taylor is in the best position, starting the week in 12th spot thanks in large part to his win at the RBC Canadian Open and his runner-up finish at the WM Phoenix Open. Barring a complete collapse, the Abbotsford., B.C., product should earn his way through to the Tour Championship.
Corey Conners and Adam Svensson sit 30th and 38th respectively. They would seem to be locks to make it to the second stage, being held in Chicago next week.
Adam Hadwin, who is 44th, and Mackenzie Hughes, sitting in 47th place, are in the danger zone. Both must play well this week to avoid having the next few weeks off.
The Canadians have fared well over the years, with Conners having reached the Tour Championship three of the past four years while Hughes and Hadwin each have both played in it once.
Canada has also had success at the Tour Championship in the past. Prior to the creation of the FedEx Cup, the Tour Championship was a stand-alone, season-ending tournament and in 2001 Mike Weir held off Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, and David Toms to win.
All five Canadian would love to follow Weir into the winner’s circle, but to do that, the first step must be taken this week.