PGA Tour Tweaks FedEx Cup


On Thursday PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem announced some alterations to the FedEx Cup system.

Beginning with the 2015 FedEx Cup playoffs, each of the four season-ending playoff events - The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship and Tour Championship - will award 2,000 points to the tournament winner instead of 2,500. Victories in regular season events will still earn 500 points, with major wins 600 and World Golf Championships tournaments 550.

"Every year since the FedEx Cup was introduced in 2007, we have reviewed the points' structure with the Player Advisory Council and four Player Directors who sit on the Policy Board," Finchem said in a statement.

"We believe this slight modification will add greater significance to players having an outstanding season leading into the playoffs, while still allowing for the excitement of volatility and movement during the Playoffs, particularly as players vie to make the final 30 for the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola."

In previous years a player who won two of the four events was assured of a FedEx Cup victory and the accompanying $10 million bonus. The Tour believes the changes will minimize the chances of a player who barely gets into the top 125 (and the Playoffs) rising to the top with a Playoff win, while adding more value to regular season wins. However, the change could mean that the top players might play fewer Playoff events.

In addition to the amount of points available, the reset points for the Tour Championship were proportionately modified. All 30 players at East Lake will still have a chance at winning the FedEx Cup, while the top five seeds entering the tournament will win the FedEx Cup with a Tour Championship victory.

Another change was the elimination of the secondary cut for the first two playoff events. In the past, if more than 78 players made the 36-cut, there was a secondary cut after the third round trimming the field to 70 and ties.