The FedEx Cup is the PGA Tour’s version of a playoff system, a season-long race that ends with a dramatic three-tournament finale to crown a single champion. This guide explains exactly how it works, from earning points in January to lifting the trophy in September, giving you a clear understanding of one of golf’s biggest prizes.
Think of the FedEx Cup like the playoffs in other major sports. Just as the NFL has the Super Bowl and Major League Baseball has the World Series, the PGA Tour has the FedEx Cup to determine its definitive season champion. Before its creation in 2007, the golf season sometimes felt like it fizzled out after the last major in August. The Tour wanted a way to create a more compelling and meaningful conclusion to the season.
The entire PGA Tour season is now built around this central competition. From the very first event in January, players are competing to earn FedEx Cup points. The more FedEx Cup points a player earns, the higher they climb on the season-long points list. A player's position on this list determines everything: their eligibility for the playoffs, their seeding in the playoffs, and ultimately, their shot at winning the massive grand prize.
The system breaks the season down into two distinct parts: a "regular season" for earning your spot, and a three-event "playoffs" where the champion is decided. It’s a marathon followed by a sprint, designed to reward both consistent excellence over the full year and clutch performance when the pressure is highest.
To really get what the FedEx Cup is all about, you have to understand the two main phases of the PGA Tour season.
From January through mid-August, every official PGA Tour event offers FedEx Cup points to players who make the cut. The core concept is simple: the better you play, the more points you get.
Once the Top 70 are set, the playoffs begin. This is a thrilling three-week stretch where the fields shrink, and the stakes skyrocket. Points values are increased during the first two playoff events, giving players a chance to make big moves up or down the rankings. A great week can change everything, while a bad week can end a player's championship hopes.
Let's walk through each event, from the starting field of 70 down to the final 30 who compete for the title.
The playoffs are structured to be a grueling test of skill and endurance, steadily whittling the field down until only the best of the best remain.
This is the first leg of the playoffs. The Top 70 players from the regular-season points list are eligible to compete. There is no 36-hole cut in this event, meaning every player gets a full four rounds to post the best score possible and earn more points. The goal here isn’t just to win the tournament, it’s to secure a spot in the Top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings. At the conclusion of this tournament, the points list is updated, and the players ranked 51st through 70th are eliminated. Another 20 players go home.
The field is now down to the Top 50 players. The pressure ratchets up another notch. Just like the St. Jude, the BMW Championship is a four-round event with no cut. The objective is singular and severe: finish in the Top 30. This is the gateway to the grand finale. Players who have a great week can jump into the top 30, while those who had a solid position but play poorly can fall out and see their season end just one step shy of the championship. It’s a tense week, as claiming a spot in the Tour Championship comes with huge perks, including exemptions into the following season’s major championships.
This is it - the final event where the FedEx Cup champion is crowned. The Top 30 players who survived the first two playoff events converge on East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. To make the finale as easy to follow and as exciting as possible, the PGA Tour introduced a brilliant and unique format called the FedExCup Starting Strokes.
Instead of everyone starting at even par, players are given a starting score based on their FedEx Cup points position heading into the week. This rewards the players for their performance throughout the season and the first two playoff events.
The system works like this:
The beauty of this format is its simplicity for the viewer. There's no need to calculate projected points or figure out complex scenarios. The leaderboard you see on TV is the *actual* leaderboard. The person at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday afternoon - combining their starting strokes with their 72-hole score for the week - wins both the TOUR Championship and is crowned the FedEx Cup champion. It’s a straight-up battle for the lowest total score.
So why do the players grind so hard all year for this? Two reasons: life-changing money and career-defining prestige.
The prize purse for the FedEx Cup is staggering. While the total bonus pool is $100 million, the winner of the FedEx Cup takes home an incredible $25 million. That’s the single largest individual prize in sports, and it makes every player pay very close attention to their points standing all year long.
Beyond the money証明書, winning the FedEx Cup signifies complete season-long excellence. It means you were one of the best players not just for a week, but for an entire calendar year. Looking at the list of past champions - Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson - shows that it’s a title reserved for the elite. While it does not have the historical weight of a major, it's considered a massive career accomplishment and a definitive stamp that you were the best player that season.
For fans, the FedEx Cup has transformed the PGA Tour season. Where it once felt like the season lost steam after the major championships were over, there is now a built-in narrative that lasts from January all the way to September. Regular season events now have an added layer of consequence, as every result impacts the all-important points list.
The playoffs deliver a concentrated dose of drama. Watching players battle to stay inside the top 50, and then the top 30, is riveting television. It ensures that the end of the season is not an afterthought but a must-watch climax that is easy to follow and filled with high-stakes moments.
To sum it up, the FedEx Cup is the PGA Tour's thrilling playoff system, rewarding season-long performance with a three-event showdown. It all builds to the Tour Championship, where a unique Starting Strokes format creates a clear and compelling battle to name a single, undisputed season champion.
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