FedEx Cup playoffs, explained: Updated standings, points format & more to know about golf’s 2022 championship
The end of the 2021-22 PGA Tour regular season has come.
The field of golfers was officially reduced to the top 125 last year, and they will be starting the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Over the next two weeks, the field will continue to shrink until only 30 golfers remain, each competing for the biggest prize money of the tour.
Scottie Scheffler heads into the FedEx Cup Playoffs as the league leader with 3,556 points, more than 1,200 ahead of runner-up Cameron Smith. Yet in the playoffs, it doesn’t take much to shrink that lead as point values increase drastically.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2022 FedEx Cup including standings, rules, points, schedule and payouts.
FedEx Cup Ranking 2022
After the BMW Championship concludes, only 30 golfers will remain in contention for the Tour Championship.
Here’s a look at the standings since the Wyndham Championship won by Joohyung Kim.
| rank | player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scottie Scheffler | 3,556 |
| 2 | CameronSmith | 2,335 |
| 3 | Sam Burns | 2,275 |
| 4 | Xander Schauffele | 2.153 |
| 5 | Patrick Cantley | 2.108 |
| 6 | Rory McIlroy | 2.104 |
| 7 | Tony Finau | 1,912 |
| 8th | JustinThomas | 1,783 |
| 9 | Cameron Young | 1,774 |
| 10 | Sunjae Im | 1,733 |
| 11 | Hideki Matsuyama | 1,697 |
| 12 | Will Zalatoris | 1,680 |
| 13 | Max Homa | 1,625 |
| 14 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 1,596 |
| fifteen | Jordan Spieth | 1,574 |
| 16 | Jon Rahm | 1,449 |
| 17 | Tom Höge | 1,424 |
| 18 | Billy Horschel | 1,403 |
| 19 | Victor Howland | 1,314 |
| 20 | Talor Gooch | 1.302 |
| 21 | Joaquin Niemann | 1,228 |
| 22 | JT Poston | 1.146 |
| 23 | Collin Morikawa | 1,089 |
| 24 | Davis Riley | 1,045 |
| 25 | Seamu’s power | 990 |
| 26 | JJ Spaun | 985 |
| 27 | Cameron Tringale | 957 |
| 28 | Aaron Wise | 952 |
| 29 | Shane Lowry | 942 |
| 30 | Luke’s list | 938 |
How does the FedEx Cup Playoffs work?
Over the past 11 months, regular season golfers have accumulated points that count toward the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The final event of the regular season was the Wyndham Championship, which ended August 7 and awarded Kim 500 points.
Now the 125 golfers with the most points advance to the FedEx Cup Playoffs. First up is the FedEx St. Jude Championship. From there the field is narrowed down to the top 70 moving up to the BMW Championship. The top 30 then move into the Tour Championship.
Not only is winning the Tour championship worth a big payday, but it also grants a Tour sabbatical for the next five years.
MORE: Why a judge turned down LIV golfers’ attempt to make FedEx Cup playoffs
FedEx Cup Scoring System
During the season, different events are worth different points. Golfers earn 500 points for winning regular PGA Tour events and 550 points for the World Golf Championships, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament.
Golfers receive 600 points for winning the Masters, PLAYERS, US Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship. All additional events during the year can earn a golfer 300 points.
Even if golfers don’t win events, they still earn points. As long as they make the 36-hole cut, they automatically get points. However, as golfers progress down the list, total scores tend to drop.
But now that it’s playoff time, the stakes have been raised. The golfer who wins the FedEx St. Jude Championship receives 2,000 points. The golfer who wins the BMW Championship receives 2,000 points. Second place earns 1,200, third earns 760 and progressively down. But with a gap of 800 between first and second, obviously winning the event is preferable. Click here for the full playoff points breakdown.
When the Tour championship comes, golfers won’t count on points anymore. Instead, the points are used to determine the handicap with which each golfer starts the Tour championship. Whoever has the most points at the time of the event receives a very nice handicap of 10 under. The golfer at this handicap has won the Tour championship for consecutive years.
Here is the full handicap system:
- 1 seed: (10 under)
- 2 seeds: (under 8)
- 3 seeds: (7 below)
- 4 seeds: (6 under)
- 5 seeds: (5 under)
- Seeds 6-10: (4 below)
- Seeds 11-15: (3 below)
- Seeds 16-20: (2 below)
- Seeds 21-25: (1 under)
- Seeds 26-30: (Par)
FedEx Cup Playoff Schedule
FedEx St. Jude Championship
- Events: 11-14 August
- Course: TPC south wind
- Location: Memphis, Tennessee.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs begin in Memphis, Tennessee with the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind. This tournament used to host the 2019-21 World Golf Championship and was held in June but will now open the playoffs.
BMW Championship
- Events: 18-21 August
- Course: Wilmington Country Club
- Location: Wilmington, Del.
The top 70 golfers will travel east to Delaware for the BMW Championship to play at Wilmington Country Club. There will be no cut no matter how the golfers finish the first 36 holes.
Tour Championship
- Events: 24-28 August
- Course: East Lake Golf Club
- Location: Atlanta
East Lake Golf Club will remain the host of the Tour Championship, as it has been since 2004. This is golfers last chance to earn a big payday before the end of the season.
FedEx Cup Payouts 2022
The golfer who wins the FedEx Cup playoffs will walk away with a huge prize pool. The winner takes home $18 million from a total prize pool of $75 million. There’s a steep gap between first and second place: Second place earns just $6.5 million.
Here is a look at the bonus structure for 2022:
| position | payout |
|---|---|
| 1 | 18 million dollars |
| 2 | $6.5 million |
| 3 | 5 million dollars |
| 4 | 4 million dollars |
| 5 | 3 million dollars |
| 6 | $2.5 million |
| 7 | 2 million dollars |
| 8th | $1.5 million |
| 9 | $1.25 million |
| 10 | 1 million dollars |
| 11 | $950,000 |
| 12 | $900,000 |
| 13 | $850,000 |
| 14 | $800,000 |
| fifteen | $760,000 |
| 16 | $720,000 |
| 17 | $700,000 |
| 18 | $680,000 |
| 19 | $660,000 |
| 20 | $640,000 |
| 21 | $620,000 |
| 22 | $600,000 |
| 23 | $580,000 |
| 24 | $565,000 |
| 25 | $550,000 |
| 26 | $540,000 |
| 27 | $530,000 |
| 28 | $520,000 |
| 29 | $510,000 |
| 30 | $500,000 |
And here’s a look at how the field has performed in 2021:
| position | player | payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Cantley | 15 million dollars |
| 2 | Jon Rahm | 5 million dollars |
| 3 | Kevin Well | 4 million dollars |
| 4 | JustinThomas | 3 million dollars |
| 5 | Victor Howland | $2.5 million |
| 6 | Xander Schauffele | $1.9 million |
| 7 | Bryson DeChambeau | $1.3 million |
| 8th | DustinJohnson | $1.1 million |
| 9 | Abraham Anker | $950,000 |
| 10 | Billy Horschel | $830,000 |
| 11 | Daniel Berger | $750,000 |
| 12 | Tony Finau | $705,000 |
| 13 | Jason Kokrak | $660,000 |
| 14 | Sergio Garcia | $620,000 |
| fifteen | Rory McIlroy | $595,000 |
| 16 | Louis Osthuizen | $570,000 |
| 17 | CameronSmith | $550,000 |
| 18 | Sam Burns | $535,000 |
| 19 | Harris English | $520,000 |
| 20 | Sunjae Im | $505,000 |
| 21 | Jordan Spieth | $490,000 |
| 22 | Corey Conners | $478,000 |
| 23 | Scottie Scheffler | $466,000 |
| 24 | Eric van Rooyen | $456,000 |
| 25 | Patrick Reed | $445,000 |
| 26 | Stewart Cink | $435,000 |
| 27 | Hideki Matsuyama | $425,000 |
| 28 | Collin Morikawa | $415,000 |
| 29 | Joaquin Niemann | $405,000 |
| 30 | Brooks Kopka | $395,000 |