The FedEx Cup: Who's in and who's out?

OVERVIEW

The PGA TOUR entered a new era in 2007 with the introduction of the FedExCup, a season-long points competition offering $35 million in bonus money and culminating with the PGA TOUR’s first-ever Playoff system. The four Playoffs events offer $32 million in prize money, meaning a total of $67 million is on the line over the four weeks of FedExCup Playoff competition.

Over the span of 46 events, players vie to become the FedExCup Champion, which distinguishes the one player who not only performs well during the 43-tournament PGA TOUR Season, but also excels through the pressure of the four-event FedExCup Playoffs. Tiger Woods won the inaugural FedExCup in 2007 and its $10-million top prize and won again in 2009. Others to hoist the FedExCup trophy include Vijay Singh (2008), Jim Furyk (2010), Bill Haas (2011), Brandt Snedeker (2012), Henrik Stenson (2013), Billy Horschel (2014) and Jordan Spieth (2015).

During the PGA TOUR Season, TOUR members earn points based on their results, with a strong emphasis placed on winning and high finishes. Once the PGA TOUR Season concludes, the top-125 players advance to the FedExCup Playoffs, a series of four $8-million tournaments offering quadruple points relative to PGA TOUR Season events.

The Playoffs feature a progressive cut, beginning with The Barclays in the New York/New Jersey area (125 players), continuing with the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston (100 players) and the BMW Championship in Indianapolis (70 players). A reseed takes place, seeding the top-30 players for the culminating TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola in Atlanta, where the FedExCup Champion is crowned.

PGA TOUR SEASON

The PGA TOUR Season is contested from October through August. Points are awarded at four levels:

• Official PGA TOUR events played during the PGA TOUR Season each award 500 FedExCup points to the winner.

• The Masters Tournament, THE PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship award 600 FedExCup points to the winner.

• World Golf Championships award 550 FedExCup points to the winner.

• Additional events (played the same week as other tournaments) award 300 FedExCup points to the winner.

The PGA TOUR Season points standings will carry over to the FedExCup Playoffs.

Limited field events during the FedExCup competition will not redistribute the points for places that do not play. Those points are not awarded to the field and the total points distributed will be slightly less than the total points as defined above. For example, if the Hyundai Tournament of Champions has a field of 30 players, the points awarded will be based on the points that would be awarded to each individual position in a full-field event from positions 1 to 30. This will result in the points that would have otherwise been awarded from positions 31-70 in a regular event not being awarded in the tournament.

Another example is the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play, a 64-player field. In this limited-field event, points for positions 65 and beyond would not be awarded.

FEDEXCUP PLAYOFFS

The FedExCup Playoffs consist of four events immediately following the PGA TOUR Season -- The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship and the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. The PGA TOUR Season standings determine the top-125 players who qualify for the first event, The Barclays. Each playoff event offers 2,000 points (quadruple the PGA TOUR Season). The second event, the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston, will have a 100-player field. The third tournament, the BMW Championship in Chicago, will have 70 players (with no cut). The finale, the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola in Atlanta, will be comprised of the top-30 qualifiers following the BMW Championship.

Following a 30-man reseed, those players will compete for the FedExCup, with one to be crowned the FedExCup champion. Each tournament will have an $8 million purse in addition to the $35-million FedExCup bonus pool.

Note: In case of ties, reseed points will be distributed between the tying positions using the same methods for dealing with ties during events -- the total points for each of the tying positions are divided equally among all players in the tying position. In the event that a player who qualifies for a Playoff event chooses not to play in that event, there will be no alternates, and the field will be shortened. FedExCup points are subject to change.