FedEx Cup: Difference between revisions
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| align=left background=yellow|[[Alex Shattuck]] || align=left|{{USA}} || 20,243,000 || 10,000,000 || 110,000 || 10,000,000 || 133,000 |
| align=left background=yellow|[[Alex Shattuck]] || align=left|{{USA}} || 20,243,000 || 10,000,000 || 110,000 || 10,000,000 || 133,000 |
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| align=left|[[Tiger Woods]] || align=left|{{USA}} || 12,800,000 || 300,000 || 1,000,000 || 1,500,000 || 10,000,000 |
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| align=left|[[Vijay Singh]] || align=left|{{FJI}} || 10,685,000 || 500,000 || 10,000,000 || 75,000 || 110,000 |
| align=left|[[Vijay Singh]] || align=left|{{FJI}} || 10,685,000 || 500,000 || 10,000,000 || 75,000 || 110,000 |
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Revision as of 15:35, 4 February 2011
Template:Distinguish2 The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007 after a NASCAR-like points race. Jim Furyk is the current champion. This competition is sponsored by FedEx.
The PGA Tour has adjusted the rules around the FedEx Cup in each of the two years since its introduction in 2007. Each set of changes was introduced to address issues that arose the previous year, particularly with the playoffs portion of the FedEx Cup.
In February 2008, the changes 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]
In November 2008, the changes were designed to help ensure that the championship would not be won until after the final playoff event. This resulted from the fact that Vijay Singh had accumulated enough points through the first three playoff events in 2008 to guarantee that he would win the Cup by simply finishing the final event.[2]
Format
Qualifying for the playoffs
The following are the criteria for the 2010 season (unchanged from 2009).
For the first portion of the season, the "regular season", from January through the latter part of August, PGA Tour players can earn points in each event they play. The number of points for winning each tournament varies from 250 to 600, depending on the quality of the field for each event, with the typical tournament awarding 500. Fewer points are awarded to other players who finish each tournament, based on their final position.
The ultimate goal is to be among the top 125 Points Leaders following the final event of the regular season. 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 final event of the regular season, the top 125 players participate in the playoffs. The number of points for winning each playoff tournament is 2500 - five times the amount for a typical regular season tournament. Points won in playoff events are added to those for the regular season, and the fields are reduced as the playoffs proceed.
After the third playoff event, the top 30 players move to the final event. Points are reset at that time, so the #1 player has 2500 points, the #2 player has 2250 points, down to the #30 player who is given 210 points. The goal is to ensure that any of the 30 players has a chance to win the FedEx Cup, but give the top players the best chance, with all of the top five players assured of winning the FedEx Cup by winning the Tour Championship
Playoff events
| Event | Players | Cut |
|---|---|---|
| The Barclays | Top 125 points leaders (after the Wyndham Championship) |
36-hole cut to top 70 players plus ties |
| Deutsche Bank Championship | Top 100 points leaders (after The Barclays) | |
| BMW Championship | Top 70 points leaders (after the Deutsche Bank Championship) |
None |
| The Tour Championship | Top 30 points leaders (after the BMW Championship) |
Once the final 125 playoff qualifiers are set, no alternates will be allowed. It is possible for any player among the final 125 (then 100, then 70) to skip a playoff event prior to the Tour Championship, but if he did he would risk his standing on the points list, and this could potentially result in him 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.
Playoff rewards
The player with the most points after The Tour Championship wins the FedEx Cup itself and $10 million of a $35 million bonus fund. As of 2010, 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 126th through 150th 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.[3][4]
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 now receive the bulk of their FedEx Cup bonuses in cash up front; for example, the 2008 FedEx Cup champion received $9 million up front and $1 million in his tax-deferred retirement account. FedEx Cup bonuses to finishers below the top 10 are still paid solely into the players' retirement accounts.[5]
The winner of the FedEx Cup also receives a five year exemption on the PGA Tour. This mirrors the exemption for the Leading Money Winner title (PGA Tour Exemption Category 8), but it may not have any practical implications. Players have almost never relied on the Leading Money Winner exemption, as they are usually exempt by other means. With the exception of the Tour Championship, which awards a 3-year PGA Tour exemption, winners of FedEx Cup playoff events receive only the standard 2-year exemption.
Beginning 2008, any player among the Final Top 30 FedEx Cup Points Leaders after the Tour Championship, if not exempt by other means, is placed in PGA Tour Exemption Category 18, which is just above the category for the Top 125 Official Money List leaders.
Remaining FedEx Cup qualifiers for the next year will come from the PGA Tour's Official Money List. This particular list will be finalized after the PGA Tour Fall Series, a group of official PGA Tour events that follow the Tour Championship.
As always, the top 125 players on the money list will be fully exempt for the following year, with other golfers either eligible through other exemptions or needing to qualify by other means (e.g. "Qualifying school").
Winners
| Year | Player | Country | Points | Margin | Events | Wins | Top 5s | Pre-Cup ranking | Pre-Cup points | Pre-Cup events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jim Furyk |  United States |
2,980 | 252 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1,691 | 18 |
| 2009 | Tiger Woods | United States |
4,000 | 1,080 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3,341 | 13 |
| 2008 | Vijay Singh |  Fiji |
125,101 | 551 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 15,034 | 19 |
| 2007 | Tiger Woods | United States |
123,033 | 12,578 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 30,574 | 13 |
Career FedEx Cup leaders
| Player | Country | Total Earnings ($) |
2007 Earnings ($) |
2008 Earnings ($) |
2009 Earnings ($) |
2010 Earnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Shattuck | United States |
20,243,000 | 10,000,000 | 110,000 | 10,000,000 | 133,000 |
| Tiger Woods | United States |
12,800,000 | 300,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,500,000 | 10,000,000 |
| Vijay Singh | Fiji |
10,685,000 | 500,000 | 10,000,000 | 75,000 | 110,000 |
| Phil Mickelson | United States |
5,980,000 | 2,000,000 | 700,000 | 3,000,000 | 280,000 |
| Steve Stricker | United States |
5,970,000 | 3,000,000 | 270,000 | 2,000,000 | 700,000 |
| Camilo Villegas |  Colombia |
3,563,000 | 205,000 | 3,000,000 | 133,000 | 225,000 |
| Matt Kuchar | United States |
3,280,000 | 75,000 | 70,000 | 135,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Sergio García |  Spain |
2,757,000 | 550,000 | 2,000,000 | 137,000 | 70,000 |
| Luke Donald |  England |
2,410,000 | 165,000 | 70,000 | 175,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Anthony Kim | United States |
1,908,000 | 132,000 | 1,500,000 | 142,000 | 134,000 |
See also
- 2010 PGA Tour schedule
- LPGA Tour Championship (formerly ADT Championship or LPGA Playoffs at the ADT) - a single-event playoff conducted by the LPGA.
- List of point distributions of the FedEx Cup
References
- ^ The Changes: What to know
- ^ Five key structural changes about '09 FedExCup
- ^ Van Sickle, Gary (2007-08-21). "A Guide to the FedEx Cup". Golf.com (Sports Illustrated). Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Wetzel, Dan (2007-09-04). "Billion to one". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Associated Press (2007-11-11). "PGA Tour will have two-week break for Ryder Cup". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "2009 PGA Tour FedExCup Bonus Money". PGA Tour. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
External links
Unless otherwise indicated, all are pgatour.com links.
- Official FedEx Cup Points Standings
- Official 2009 PGA Tour Schedule -- FedEx Cup Regular and Playoff events, plus Fall Series events