FedEx Cup

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 How the FedEx Cup works
2 Summary of points distribution
3 External links
4 See also

The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. It is the first time that men's professional golf will have playoffs. Announced in November 2005, it will be awarded starting in 2007 after a NASCAR-like points race. This competition will be sponsored by FedEx.

[edit] How the FedEx Cup works

Sources -- External links section below.

[edit] Qualifying for the Playoffs

From the Mercedes-Benz Championship (January 4-7, 2007) to the Wyndham Championship (August 16-19, 2007), PGA Tour players can earn points in each event they play. The ultimate goal is to be among the Top 144 Points Leaders following the Wyndham Championship. Only those players who are regular full-time members of the PGA Tour will earn points. A non-member who joins the PGA Tour in mid-season will be eligible to earn points in the first event he plays after officially joining the Tour.

After the Wyndham Championship, points for all eligible players are reset. The Top 144 players on this reset scale will advance to the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

[edit] Playoff events

Next to each event name: 2007 dates, plus the field for the particular event.

Barclays Classic (August 23-26) - Top 144 Points Leaders after the points reset (with 36-hole cut to top 70 players plus ties)
Deutsche Bank Championship (August 31-Sept 3) - Top 120 Points Leaders after the Barclays (with 36-hole cut to top 70 players plus ties)
BMW Championship (September 6-9) - Top 70 Points Leaders after the Deutsche Bank (with no 36-hole cut)
The Tour Championship Presented By Coca-Cola (September 13-16) - Top 30 Points Leaders after the BMW (with no 36-hole cut)

Once the Final 144 Playoff Qualifiers are set, no alternates will be allowed. It is possible for any player among the Final 144 (then 120, then 70) to skip a playoff event prior to the Tour Championship, but to do so is to risk losing their standing on the points list, and this could potentially result in being eliminated from the playoffs.

For the Tour Championship itself, only the Top 30 Points Leaders after the BMW Championship will be eligible. If for any reason a player among the Top 30 does not compete in the Tour Championship, he will not be replaced.

[edit] Playoff rewards

The player with the most points after The Tour Championship will win the FedEx Cup itself and $10 million of a $35 million bonus fund. The runner-up gets $3 million, 3rd place $2 million, 4th place $1.5 million, 5th place $1 million, and so on down to $32,000 for 144th place.

The winner of the FedEx Cup will also receive a five year exemption on the PGA Tour. This mirrors the exemption for the Leading Money Winner title (PGA Tour Exemption Category 8), but it may not have any practical implications. Players have almost never relied on the Leading Money Winner exemption, as they are usually exempt by other means. While not officially announced, it is assumed that since the Tour Championship winner receives (since 1998) a 3-year PGA Tour exemption, a winner of any one of the other three FedEx Cup playoff events would receive the same such exemption.

Beginning 2008, any player among the Final Top 30 FedEx Cup Points Leaders after the Tour Championship will be placed in an exemption category below that for regular PGA Tour event winners (PGA Tour Exemption Category 9).

The Final Top 30 FedEx Cup Points Leaders also qualify for the following year's FedEx Cup competition. Remaining FedEx Cup qualifiers for the next year will come from the PGA Tour's Official Money List. This particular list will be finalized after the Fall Series, a group of seven official events that follow the Tour Championship.

As always, the top 125 players on the money list will be fully exempt for the following year, with other golfers either eligible through other exemptions or needing to qualify by other means (e.g. "Q-school").

Golf fans can follow the season-long FedEx Cup competition at various websites, including any of those listed below under External Links.

[edit] Summary of points distribution

Only golfers who make the cut for an event will receive points for that event. Up to 85 golfers will receive points each week.
For most regular-season tournaments, up to 25,000 points will be awarded. The major tournaments and THE PLAYERS Championship will award 10 percent more total points per position than most other events. The World Golf Championship events will award 5 percent more total points per position. For several secondary events - tournaments held at the same time as a major or a WGC tourney - the available points are cut in half.
The point distribution method is more complex than that of the NASCAR system it mirrors. Not only are more points awarded to more participants, point totals are added together and divided among all golfers tied for a particular position at the end of a tournament. For example, if four finish tied for fifth place, the fifth through eighth place points are pooled and divided by four, with each of the golfers receiving the same number of points.

[edit] External links

Unless otherwise indicated, all are PGATOUR.COM links.

[edit] See also

PGA Tour results section - for a list of tournament winners in this year's FedEx Cup.
The ADT Championship (aka LPGA Playoffs at the ADT) - a single-event playoff conducted by the LPGA.