How do the FedEx Cup Playoffs work?
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Everything you need to know about the revamped format of the 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs and how the champion will be decided.
As the 36-tournament PGA Tour season draws to a close, the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings proceed to the first of three lucrative season-ending playoff events – the FedEx St Jude Championship.
The St Jude field next needs to survive a 20-man cull, made after 72 holes around TPC Southwind in Memphis, to reach the BMW Championship.
The remaining 50 tour pros face the exact same challenge again at the BMW, this year at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland, vying to secure a spot in the final 30 who will compete for the FedEx Cup title at the Tour Championship.
The whole field will tee it up for all four rounds in each of the Playoffs, with their accumulated points tally for the season carrying over into the first two stages, where 2,000 points will be awarded to the respective champions.
The Tour Championship will take place once more at East Lake Golf Club in Georgia, where a final 72-hole stroke-play tournament will determine the 2025 FedEx Cup champion.
A key difference this year, however, is the removal of the widely criticized ‘Starting Strokes’ system that rewarded respective season performances with varying degrees of staggered start. This season sees the East Lake field start from a level playing field, as they target the $10 million winner’s bonus.
“We want the Tour Championship to be the hardest tournament to qualify for and the FedEx Cup trophy the most difficult to win,” said reigning champion Scottie Scheffler when the announcement was made earlier this year.
“Shifting the Tour Championship to a more straight-up format with a tougher course setup makes it easier for fans to follow and provides a more challenging test for players, which brings out the best competition.”
FedEx Cup Playoffs
| TOURNAMENT | DATE | VENUE | FIELD |
| FedEx St Jude Championship | August 7-10 | TPC Southwind | FedEx Cup Top-70 |
| BMW Championship | August 14-17 | Caves Valley Golf Club | FedEx Cup Top-50 |
| Tour Championship | August 21-24 | East Lake Golf Club | FedEx Cup Top-30 |
How much prize money is up for grabs?
This season also sees some significant changes to how the $100 million bonus fund is awarded.
Instead of the Tour Championship determining how much each player receives, the PGA Tour will distribute $20 million between the top 10 in the standings following the Wyndham Championship, with the No.1 player receiving a $10 million cut.
Similarly, the top 30 following the BMW Championship will share roughly $23 million, with the No.1 player receiving a further $5 million bonus.
The remaining $57 million will then be distributed at East Lake according to finishing positions, with the champion earning $10 million and the FedEx Cup trophy.
If the same player is No.1 in the standings after Wyndham and BMW, and goes on to win the Tour Championship, he’d earn $25 million (plus another $8 million for being the winner of the Comcast Business top 10 at the end of the regular season).
For the players who fail to make the Tour Championship field, including players No.71-150 in the standings who missed out on the playoffs altogether, a bonus fund of $17 million will be paid out as deferred compensation into their retirement fund.
Here’s how the payouts for the top 10 players at each of the three payout stages look…
FedEx Cup bonus prize money structure
| POSITION | THROUGH WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP | THROUGH BMW CHAMPIONSHIP | THROUGH TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP |
| 1st | $10m | $5m | $10m |
| 2nd | $4m | $3.5m | $5m |
| 3rd | $1.2m | $2.6m | $3.7m |
| 4th | $1m | $1.8m | $3.2m |
| 5th | $800,000 | $1.45m | $2.75m |
| 6th | $700,000 | $900,000 | $1.9m |
| 7th | $650,000 | $700,000 | $1.4m |
| 8th | $600,000 | $585,000 | $1.07m |
| 9th | $550,000 | $550,000 | $900,000 |
| 10th | $500,000 | $515,000 | $735,000 |
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Everything you need to know about the revamped FedEx Cup Playoffs.
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The Tour Championship features a unique starting system
