Intriguing Facts to Know About PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup: History, Prominent Rule Changes, and Innovative Format

The PGA Tour is one of the most reputed golf tours in the world. The season of the tour offers an array of events for the golfers to compete in and 4 major tournaments to fight for pride and honor. The final major of the season is concluded in July, and the next exciting thing for golfers and fans alike is the FedEx Cup. 

The FedEx Cup is a one of a kind tournament on the PGA Tour, that offers the play-off format to golfers. This tournament has its own distinctive format and some significant rule changes that have taken place since its inception. Let us dive deeper to know more about the groundbreaking tournament.

History of the FedEx Cup

The tournament was first introduced in 2005, but its inaugural event was played in 2007. The introduction of the FedEx Cup marked the first time that the playoffs format was introduced on the PGA Tour. The players accumulate FedEx points throughout the Tour’s season and the aim is to become the golfer with the highest points. The top 125 players on the points table get a chance to compete in the playoffs. 

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The first-ever winner of the FedEx Cup back in 2007, was Tiger Woods. The list of past winners of the FedEx Cup is as follows:

Format of the FedEx Cup

The format of the FedEx Cup has changed quite a lot. But the most recent format of the Cup is as follows:

At the end of every tournament and the major tournament in the season, the golfers are awarded points. At the conclusion of the regular season, the top 125 players in the FedEx Cup standings qualify for the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Afterward, the top 70 qualify for next week’s BMW Championship.

FedEx Cup points awarded at the FedEx St. Jude and BMW are more than regular-season events, with the winner receiving 2000 points. The performance in the playoffs is weighted more heavily than in regular-season events. Once the BMW Championship is complete, the top 30 golfers move on to the Tour Championship.

The Tour Championship is extremely different as compared to other tournaments on the PGA Tour. Golfers do not start even at par, instead, they are given “starting strokes” based on their place in the FedEx Cup standings. 

The Tour Championship “starting strokes” are listed below.

No. 1 – 10 Under
No. 2 – 8 Under
No. 3 – 7 Under
No. 4 – 6 Under
No. 5 – 5 Under
Nos. 6-10 – 4 Under
Nos. 11-15 – 3 Under
Nos. 16-20 – 2 Under
Nos. 21-25 – 1 Under
Nos. 26-30 – Even par

The golfer with the lowest score at the end is then awarded and crowned as the FedEx Cup champion.

Rule changes that have happened so far 

There have been some significant changes in the rules of the Cup, in the past. Every rule change was the result of the issues that were faced in the game the year before. 

• 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 involved a tightening of the playoff reset points and awarding more points to playoff participants. This is effectively a penalty for those players who skip a playoff event.
• In November 2008, the changes were designed to help ensure that the championship would not be won until every golfer who has qualified finishes playing 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 without finishing the final event.
• In 2013, FedEx Cup points began to determine the 125 golfers who would retain their PGA Tour cards for the following season. Earlier the same thing was determined by position on the tour’s money list at the end of the year.

What are your thoughts about this one of a kind tournament? Let us know in the comments below.

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