Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\nSCHEDULE<\/p>\n
August 7-11: FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee<\/p>\n
August 14-18: BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland<\/p>\n
August 21-25: Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta<\/p>\n
HOW DO THE PLAYOFFS WORK?<\/p>\n
In a way, the playoffs started last week with the final tournament of the regular season, the Wyndham Championship, which serves as a de facto play-in tournament for those on the bubble top-70. <\/p>\n
It was here earlier this week where the drama started with some big names, like Adam Scott and Max Homa, failing to play their way in. There was also the drama of Davis Thompson three-putting on the 72nd hole to miss a spot in the lucrative post-season. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a brutal game. <\/p>\n
Which brings us to this week\u2019s event in Memphis which marks the start of the playoffs proper. <\/p>\n
The 70 players who have accumulated the most FedEx Cup points \u2014 by way of their performances in tournaments across the calendar year \u2014 have qualified. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say all 70 will tee up… but there\u2019s more on that controversy below. <\/p>\n
Following the St. Jude Championship, the players inside the points tally\u2019s top-50 progress to the BMW Championship, before the field is whittled down again to 30 for the season-ending Tour Championship. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to reiterate that progression in the playoffs relies on season points tally, and not leaderboard position at each playoff event \u2014 though the higher you place, the more points you earn. <\/p>\n
Thompson misses simple putt & playoffs | 00:47<\/p>\n
WHAT\u2019S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s back to the future for the Tour Championship, which reverts to a 72-hole stroke-play event, with all players starting at even par like every other tournament. <\/p>\n
Between 2019 and 2024, the FedEx Cup leader was given a headstart at 10-under, second-place was afforded eight starting strokes, and the advantages shrunk down until 26-30th who began at even-par. <\/p>\n
The starting strokes format was introduced to stop the situation where the winner of the Tour Championship was not necessarily the winner of the FedEx Cup.<\/p>\n
For example, in 2018, when Tiger Woods sensationally won the Tour Championship, it was actually Justin Rose who won the FedEx Cup and a much larger pay cheque.<\/p>\n
People only really remember the former. <\/p>\n
The starting strokes format made it truly a winner-takes-all tournament that aimed to offer some level of advantage to the season\u2019s better players, but it remained somewhat disorientating and offered little clarity over who was actually playing the best at the event. <\/p>\n
At the end of the day, it was deemed to be too convoluted for fans. <\/p>\n
Scottie Scheffler, the season leader who won\u2019t get the advantage of a 10-stroke lead, said earlier this year that reverting the format was the best course of action. <\/p>\n
\u201cShifting the Tour Championship to a more straight-up format with a tougher course set-up makes it easier for fans to follow and provides a more challenging test for players, which brings out the best competition,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement that the decision was made after an evaluation of fans\u2019 opinions. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Player Advisory Council led a thorough process to respond to what our fans are asking for: The most competitive golf in the world, played for the highest stakes, in the most straightforward and engaging format,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Cameron Young finally PGA Tour winner | 00:56<\/p>\n
SO WHY ISN\u2019T RORY PLAYING? <\/p>\n
This is where things get really interesting.<\/p>\n
In reverting the Tour Championship to its old format, the PGA Tour failed to close a massive loophole that McIlroy will this week exploit.<\/p>\n
The reigning Masters champion will sensationally not play the St. Jude Championship, knowing that his spot at No.2 on the rankings is already enough to put him through to the BMW Championship.<\/p>\n
Depending on results, he may not even need to play the BMW Championship either. <\/p>\n
Under the previous Tour Championship format, McIlroy would have been incentivised to play the St. Jude and BMW so he had the most starting strokes possible for the Tour Championship. <\/p>\n
But since all 30 players will start at even-par, and with McIllory not exactly wanting for prize money, he\u2019s decided he\u2019s happy enough to take his chances with a week off.<\/p>\n
The move understandably has PGA Tour headquarters worried. <\/p>\n
\u201cVery concerned,\u201d player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board, Peter Malnati, said on Tuesday about the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there is stuff in the works (to keep it from happening again) and I\u2019ll leave it at that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Social media has swiftly described any such ruling as the \u2018Rory Rule\u2019.<\/p>\n
Fellow board member Webb Simpson was more at ease with McIlroy\u2019s decision, but suggested that closing the loophole completely would be difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s too hard of a thing to make guys have to play. We\u2019re still a sport where you can play when you want to play,\u201d Simpson said. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth noting that for all its controversy, it\u2019s not a move without precedence.<\/p>\n
Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk have both previously skipped the first playoff event and still won the FedEx Cup. <\/p>\n
Jordan Spieth, a former player director on the policy board, said he didn\u2019t expect playoff absences to become a widespread issue. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou might have one, two guys do that for an event, but I don\u2019t think it will become a thing because they are still huge events against the best players in the world,\u201d Spieth said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019re trying to figure out how to make sure you don\u2019t skip both of them and ideally neither of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mimi Rhodes “Hole in one, & an assist?!” | 01:11<\/p>\n
WHO ARE THE AUSSIES IN THE MIX \u2014 AND HOW COULD THEY FARE? <\/p>\n
2025 has been a quieter year on Tour for the Australian contingent, as evidenced by the fact that there are only three players from these shores in the playoffs: Jason Day, Min Woo Lee and Cam Davis.<\/p>\n
In truth, we could well see a scenario where no Australian makes it to the Tour Championship with none of the trio currently inside the top-30. <\/p>\n
Day is the highest-ranked at 37th following four top-10 finishes this year, but he comes into the post-season off consecutive missed cuts at The Open and John Deere Classic.<\/p>\n
Lee needs to perform well at the St. Jude as he is ranked 50th, on the cusp of dropping out of the BMW Championship the week after.<\/p>\n
He does, however, have a PGA Tour win under his belt this year after clinching the Houston Open. But his form has been up-and-down of late with three missed cuts in his past six starts, with his best finish in that stretch being his T13 at the Rocket Classic.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Davis will need to play himself into the BMW Championship having only scraped through to the playoffs ranked 69th.<\/p>\n
He has just one top-10 finish this year and has missed 50 per cent of cuts from 22 events this year. <\/p>\n
HOW MUCH MONEY IS UP FOR GRABS IN TOTAL? <\/p>\n
The total bonus pool handed out after the Tour Championship is US$100 million (A$154m), with the winner now earning US$10 million (A$15.4m). <\/p>\n
Those who reach the Tour Championship only play for the \u2018bonus pool\u2019, meaning there is no additional prize money for the event itself. <\/p>\n
The St. Jude and BMW, however, have US$20 million (A$30.7m) prize pools of their own.<\/p>\n
As such, when you combine the bonus pool with the prize funds of the St. Jude and BMW, the FedEx Cup playoffs become worth US$140 million (A$215m) across the three weeks. <\/p>\n
Minjee Lee almost hit by stray ball! | 00:22<\/p>\n
WHO QUALIFIED FOR THE FEDEX CUP PLAYOFFS? <\/p>\n
Rank \u2014 Name \u2014 FedEx Cup points<\/p>\n
1: Scottie Scheffler, 4806<\/p>\n
2: Rory McIlroy, 3444<\/p>\n
3: Sepp Straka, 2595<\/p>\n
4: Russell Henley, 2391<\/p>\n
5: Justin Thomas, 2280<\/p>\n
6: Ben Griffin, 2275<\/p>\n
7: Harris English, 2232<\/p>\n
8: J.J. Spaun, 2144<\/p>\n
9: Tommy Fleetwood, 1783<\/p>\n
10: Keegan Bradley, 1749<\/p>\n
11: Maverick McNealy, 1672<\/p>\n
12: Andrew Novak, 1625<\/p>\n
13: Corey Conners, 1620<\/p>\n
14: Ludvig Aberg, 1559<\/p>\n
15: Robert MacIntyre, 1488<\/p>\n
16: Cameron Young, 1464<\/p>\n
17: Shane Lowry, 1438<\/p>\n
18: Nick Taylor, 1438<\/p>\n
19: Collin Morikawa, 1427<\/p>\n
20: Brian Harman, 1413<\/p>\n
21: Hideki Matsuyama, 1309<\/p>\n
22: Chris Gotterup, 1306<\/p>\n
23: Patrick Cantlay, 1275<\/p>\n
24: Sam Burns, 1266<\/p>\n
25: Justin Rose, 1220<\/p>\n
26: Viktor Hovland, 1210<\/p>\n
27: Lucas Glover, 1191<\/p>\n
28: Sam Stevens, 1182<\/p>\n
29: Sungjae Im, 1172<\/p>\n
30: Daniel Berger, 1167<\/p>\n
31: Ryan Gerard, 1158<\/p>\n
32: Ryan Fox, 1126<\/p>\n
33: Jacob Bridgeman, 1111<\/p>\n
34: Brian Campbell, 1104<\/p>\n
35: Thomas Detry, 1080<\/p>\n
36: Michael Kim, 1080<\/p>\n
37: Jason Day, 1070<\/p>\n
38: Taylor Pendrith, 1035<\/p>\n
39: Denny McCarthy, 1034<\/p>\n
40: Tom Hoge, 1026<\/p>\n
41: Matt Fitzpatrick, 1017<\/p>\n
42: Xander Schauffele, 953<\/p>\n
43: Aldrich Potgieter, 941<\/p>\n
44: Harry Hall, 929<\/p>\n
45: Akshay Bhatia, 909<\/p>\n
46: Si Woo Kim, 882<\/p>\n
47: Jake Knapp, 871<\/p>\n
48: Jordan Spieth, 865<\/p>\n
49: Wyndham Clark, 853<\/p>\n
50: Min Woo Lee, 851<\/p>\n
51: J.T. Poston, 850<\/p>\n
52: Kurt Kitayama, 842<\/p>\n
53: Bud Cauley, 831<\/p>\n
54: Joe Highsmith, 828<\/p>\n
55: Aaron Rai, 811<\/p>\n
56: Jhonattan Vegas, 783<\/p>\n
57: Max Greyserman, 768<\/p>\n
58: Stephan Jaeger, 726<\/p>\n
59: Mackenzie Hughes, 704<\/p>\n
60: Tony Finau, 690<\/p>\n
61: Chris Kirk, 682<\/p>\n
62: Nico Echavaria, 672<\/p>\n
63: Patrick Rodgers, 668<\/p>\n
64: Rickie Fowler, 656<\/p>\n
65: Davis Riley, 652<\/p>\n
66: Kevin Yu, 645<\/p>\n
67: Emiliano Grillo, 628<\/p>\n
68: Erik van Rooyan, 634<\/p>\n
69: Cam Davis, 625<\/p>\n
70: Matthias Schmid, 620<\/p>\n
PAST FEDEX CUP WINNERS<\/p>\n
2024: Scottie Scheffler<\/p>\n
2023: Viktor Hovland<\/p>\n
2022: Rory McIlroy<\/p>\n
2021: Patrick Cantlay<\/p>\n
2020: Dustin Johnson<\/p>\n
2019: Rory McIlroy<\/p>\n
2018: Justin Rose<\/p>\n
2017: Justin Thomas<\/p>\n
2016: Rory McIlroy<\/p>\n
2015: Jordan Spieth<\/p>\n
2014: Billy Horschel<\/p>\n
2013: Henrik Stenson<\/p>\n
2012: Brandt Snedeker<\/p>\n
2011: Bill Haas<\/p>\n
2010: Jim Furyk<\/p>\n
2009: Tiger Woods<\/p>\n
2008: Vijay Singh<\/p>\n
2007: Tiger Woods<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The PGA Tour\u2019s mega-money post season kicks off this week with the top 70 players set to scrap…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[6938,5487,6954,2095,42308,6950,4131,64,63,689,42313,15814,42355,42315,42341,42334,42329,11852,6929,42340,38616,6930,42346,42323,6936,42312,6927,42316,42339,2057,42304,42330,42310,2105,755,6941,16409,42328,5499,29466,42349,37076,42335,15817,6920,6919,42332,6944,42351,395,6937,42331,6925,31676,733,42326,33379,5488,42301,42338,42348,2041,2067,3583,5492,677,42302,42327,42317,42300,42321,42333,29471,42322,42350,42343,42345,42337,42303,42324,36334,21396,6960,6924,756,42309,2852,42352,42357,42311,42358,42342,42314,42360,42319,1656,85,42306,42344,42318,42354,42305,42307,42359,34909,18394,973,6926,9244,42353,42347,6932,42336,37101,2614,42325,9236,42356,42320,6959],"class_list":["post-49965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-aaron-rai","tag-adam-scott","tag-akshay-bhatia","tag-america","tag-american-davis-thompson","tag-andrew-novak","tag-atlanta","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-bayerische-motoren-werke-ag","tag-ben-griffin","tag-big-deal","tag-bill-haas","tag-bombshell-decision","tag-bonus-pool","tag-brandt-snedeker","tag-brian-campbell","tag-brian-harman","tag-chris-kirk","tag-collin-morikawa","tag-corey-conners","tag-course-set-up","tag-cup-playoffs","tag-daniel-berger","tag-denny-mccarthy","tag-dustin-johnson","tag-east-lake-golf","tag-emiliano-grillo","tag-europe","tag-event-worth","tag-fedex-corporation","tag-fellow-board-member","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-golf","tag-henrik-stenson","tag-ian-baker-finch","tag-jacob-polychronis","tag-jason-day","tag-jay-monahan","tag-jim-furyk","tag-jim-nantz","tag-joe-highsmith","tag-jordan-spieth","tag-justin-rose","tag-justin-thomas","tag-kevin-yu","tag-lucas-glover","tag-mackenzie-hughes","tag-maryland","tag-matt-fitzpatrick","tag-matthias-schmid","tag-maverick-mcnealy","tag-max-homa","tag-memphis","tag-michael-kim","tag-mimi-rhodes","tag-min-woo-lee","tag-missed-cuts","tag-nick-taylor","tag-nico-echavaria","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-northern-europe","tag-northern-ireland","tag-oceania","tag-owings-mills","tag-patrick-rodgers","tag-peter-malnati","tag-pga-tour-policy-board","tag-play-in-tournament","tag-player-advisory-council","tag-player-director","tag-playoff-absences","tag-playoff-event","tag-playoff-frenzy","tag-playoff-tournament","tag-playoffs-concerns","tag-playoffs-cut","tag-playoffs-work","tag-points-tally","tag-prize-money","tag-rickie-fowler","tag-robert-macintyre","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-rory-rule","tag-royal-portrush-golf-club","tag-runner-up-finishes","tag-ryan-fox","tag-ryan-gerard","tag-sam-stevens","tag-season-kicks","tag-season-leader","tag-season-points","tag-season-standings","tag-shane-lowry","tag-sports","tag-st-jude","tag-staggering-loophole","tag-start-date","tag-starting-strokes","tag-starting-strokes-format","tag-state-of-georgia","tag-stephan-jaeger","tag-sungjae-im","tag-talking-point","tag-tennessee","tag-thomas-detry","tag-tiger-woods","tag-tom-hoge","tag-tommy-fleetwood","tag-tony-finau","tag-tour-championship","tag-trevor-immelman","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-vijay-singh","tag-warren-little","tag-webb-simpson","tag-woo-kim","tag-wyndham-clark"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/content.foxsports.com.au\/fs\/electrode\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n