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How the 2008 FedEx Cup system works
PGA Tour season overview
In 2007, the PGA TOUR entered a new era in golf with an exciting season-long points competition called the FedExCup. This competition, spanning 37 weeks in 2008, offers players and fans a new competitive element while giving the sport a more defined "season".
The PGA TOUR season is now divided into two parts:
1. FedEx Cup
PGA Tour Regular Season (33 weeks)
The Regular Season will consist of 37 events in 33 weeks from the
beginning of January to the middle of August. Players accumulate
FedEx Cup points which will determine their seeding for the PGA
Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup. The top 144 players will be eligible.
Points are awarded at four levels:
Official PGA TOUR events played during the Regular Season will award 25,000 FedExCup points.
The Masters Tournament, THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open, British Open and the PGA Championship award 27,500 FedExCup points (10 percent more).
World Golf Championships events award 26,250 points (5 percent more).
Additional events (played opposite other tournaments) award 12,500 FedExCup points. The Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular is a new event in 2008 at this level.
PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup (4 weeks)
The Playoffs will consist of four events between late-August and September. These four events will determine the winner of the FedExCup. In addition, the top 30 finishers will be guaranteed exemption for the following year.
Seeding will be determined by a points reset based on the 144 players' final Regular Season points standings. Each Playoff event offers 50,000 points, double that of the Regular Season events.
Changes in 2008:
No changes were made to the first three weeks of the Playoffs. In deference to the 2008 Ryder Cup, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola -- the fourth and final Playoff event -- was moved back two weeks so that it will be played immediately following the Ryder Cup this year. This move provides a one-week gap between the third Playoff event (the BMW Championship) and the Ryder Cup, so as to not adversely affect either the Ryder Cup or THE TOUR Championship.
Based on these changes, all Fall Series events will be moved back one week.
2. PGA Tour Fall Series
Between late September and early November, a Fall Series of seven tournaments will be conducted to finalize the following year's eligibility for players who do not finish in the top 30 of the FedExCup. Players will vie for positions 31-125, based on final season earnings.
How Points are Distributed
In every event, points are distributed to all players earning official money with exception of those who are not PGA TOUR members. Only players who are regular members as defined by PGA TOUR tournament regulations will be eligible to earn points. Special temporary members and amateurs will not be eligible to earn FedExCup points. Points that would have otherwise been earned by non-members or special temporary members will not be awarded. For example, if a non-member finishes third at an event and a regular PGA TOUR member finishes fourth, the PGA TOUR member will receive fourth place points - third place points will not be awarded at all.
All players who are not PGA TOUR members but choose to join during the season will be eligible to earn points on a prospective basis. Points are not awarded retroactively. For example, if a non-member wins a Regular Season event and then chooses to join the membership, he will earn points for all events going forward in the season, but not for the event he just won.
This table shows the specific number of FedExCup points awarded to each position in a standard Regular Season event. Position Points awarded
1 4500
2 2700
3 1700
4 1200
5 1000
10 675
30 170
70 50
Additional events played during the Regular Season will award 12,500
FedEx Cup points. Additional events are those that are played the
same week as the World Golf Championships and British Open.
For a complete listing of points for every position in every event, please click here. How The Playoffs Work
At the conclusion of the Regular Season, each player's points total determines his position, or "seed," going into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. All points will be "reset" for the Playoffs, as shown below. The top 144 players will be eligible.
The leader will start the Playoffs with a slim advantage - just 500 points more than the second placed player. The drop-off reduces as it goes down the list, with players from 30th to 144th being separated by just 40 points each, as follows:
Regular Season Points at the reset
finish position
1 100,000
2 99,500
3 99,250
4 99,000
5 98,750
6 98,625
7 98,500
8 98,375
9 98,250
10 98,125
30 96,630
50 95,830
70 95,030
120 93,030
130 92,630
144 92,070
PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup
The Playoffs will consist of four events:
Tournament Location Field Size
The Barclays New Jersey 144
Deutsche Bank Championship Boston 120
BMW Championship St. Louis 70
THE TOUR Championship
presented by Coca-Cola Atlanta 30
The PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup will feature a progressive
cut through the first three events to determine the final 30 players
who will qualify for The Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola,
where the FedEx Cup Champion will be determined. The Barclays opens
the playoffs with 144 players, followed by the Deutsche Bank Championship
with 120 and the BMW Championship with 70.
FedEx Cup Points in the Playoffs
All Playoff events will award 50,000 total points, as shown below.
The final Playoff event, The Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola,
awards slightly more points per position due to the smaller 30-player
field.
Playoff Points
Position Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BMW The Tour Championship
1 11,000 12,500
2 7,400 8,500
3 5,400 6,000
4 4,400 5,000
5 4,000 4,500
10 3,350 3,700
30 2,340 2,000
70 2,100 --
FedEx Cup Bonus Structure
The FedEx Cup will award a total of $35 million in bonus money at
the conclusion of the Playoffs including $10 million to the FedEx
Cup Champion, the largest single bonus payout in sports.
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