FedEx Cup
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 was first awarded in 2007 after a NASCAR-like points race. Tiger Woods is the current champion. This competition is sponsored by FedEx.
In February 2008, the PGA Tour announced changes to the playoffs portion of the FedEx Cup that were designed to allow more golfers a chance to improve their positions on the points list as the playoffs progress. The changes involve a tightening of the playoff reset points and awarding more points to playoff participants. This is effectively a penalty on those players that skip a playoff event.[1]
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[edit] Format
[edit] Qualifying for the playoffs
From the Mercedes-Benz Championship (January 3-6, 2008) to the Wyndham Championship (August 14-17, 2008), 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. With this scale, the first place regular season points leader will get 100,000 points, second place will receive 99,500, and then a sliding scale through 144th place receiving 82,070 points. The top 144 players will advance to the playoffs. The points on the reset scale will carry over into the playoffs. This is the equivalent of "seeding" as players who have performed better during the regular season will more likely advance past the first tournament in the playoffs.
[edit] Playoff events
| Event | Date | Players | Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Barclays | August 21—August 24 | Top 144 points leaders (after the points reset) |
36-hole cut to top 70 players plus ties |
| Deutsche Bank Championship | August 29—September 1 | Top 120 points leaders (after The Barclays) |
|
| BMW Championship | September 4—September 7 | Top 70 points leaders (after the Deutsche Bank Championship) |
None |
| The Tour Championship | September 25—September 28 | Top 30 points leaders (after the BMW Championship) |
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. However, in 2007, the money was placed into their tax-deferred retirement accounts, not given in cash. Players under 45 are not able to access any 2007 FedEx Cup bonuses (as opposed to prize money earned in the tournaments themselves) until turning 45. They can invest their bonus in any manner they choose, and once they turn 45, can choose to defer payment until they turn 60 or play in fewer than 15 PGA Tour events in a season. Once a player chooses to take payments from his fund, he will receive monthly checks for five years.[2][3]
Because of possible legislation affecting deferred retirement plans, in the wake of business stories that speculated that Tiger Woods could amass a $1 billion retirement fund if he won the FedEx Cup six more times, the PGA Tour announced a change to the payout system effective in 2008. The top 10 finishers will now receive the bulk of their FedEx Cup bonuses in cash up front; for example, the 2008 FedEx Cup champion will receive $9 million up front and $1 million in his tax-deferred retirement account. FedEx Cup bonuses to finishers below the top 10 will continue to be paid solely into the players' retirement accounts.[4]
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. With the exception of the Tour Championship, which awards a 3-year PGA Tour exemption, winners of FedEx Cup playoff events will receive only the standard 2-year 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 before that for Top 125 Money List leaders (PGA Tour Exemption Category 19).
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 PGA Tour 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. "Qualifying school").
[edit] FedEx Cup Winners
| Year | Player | Country | Points | Margin | Events | Wins | Top 5s | Pre-Cup ranking | Pre-Cup points | Pre-Cup events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Tiger Woods |  United States |
123,033 | 12,578 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 30,574 | 13 |
[edit] See also
- 2008 PGA Tour schedule
- The ADT Championship (aka LPGA Playoffs at the ADT) - a single-event playoff conducted by the LPGA.
[edit] References
- ^ The Changes: What to know
- ^ Van Sickle, Gary (2007-08-21). A Guide to the FedEx Cup. Golf.com (Sports Illustrated). Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
- ^ Wetzel, Dan (2007-09-04). Billion to one. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
- ^ Associated Press. "PGA Tour will have two-week break for Ryder Cup", ESPN.com, 2007-11-11. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
[edit] External links
Unless otherwise indicated, all are pgatour.com links.
- The PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Home Page
- Detailed description of the FedEx Cup Points System, Playoff Format and Bonus Pool
- Official FedEx Cup Points Standings
- Official 2008 PGA Tour Schedule -- FedEx Cup Regular and Playoff events, plus Fall Series events
- Initial announcement of the FedEx Cup Series
- June 2006 announcement giving details of the points system and bonus fund
- November 2006 announcement on size of playoff fields
- Notes: FedExCup winner to get five-year exemption
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