The FedEx Cup playoffs are nearly here, but several golfers are still looking for a chance to crack the top-70 field at the Wyndham Championship.
The Wyndham Championship is the final event of golf’s 2022-23 regular season, and it will be an important one for many golfers: Players such as Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, Adam Scott and Gary Woodland are all on the outside looking in as they look to qualify for the PGA Tour championship.
There is a reason more golfers than usual find themselves scrambling to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs. The tour championship underwent a major contraction ahead of the 2023 iteration of the event as a way to not only increase competition for the playoff spots, but also award more prize money to the top players on the PGA Tour. That also was a direct response to the big-money contracts the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour was giving its players.
As such, the starting field of total FedEx Cup participants was slashed from 125 — as it had been in previous seasons — to just 70 in 2023.
MORE: Ryder Cup projections, points standings after Open Championship
The changes don’t stop there; the decreased field size will make for smaller cuts between each playoff event leading to the season finale at East Lake, and there are other key rules about which golf fans will want to know.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 FedEx Cup, including standings, rules, points, schedules and payouts.
How do the FedEx Cup playoffs work?
Over the past 11 months, golfers on the PGA Tour have earned points during the regular season that count toward the FedEx Cup playoffs. The points stem from performance in each PGA Tour-sanctioned event. Winning an event provides a golfer with the most points, naturally, but there are other ways to earn them throughout the season.
By the end of the campaign, the top 70 golfers with the most points move to the FedEx Cup playoffs. That number used to be 125, but the PGA Tour changed its playoff structure to admit fewer golfers, increasing competition and available prize money for the three-week circuit.
The first FedEx Cup playoff event is the FedEx St. Jude Championship, held Aug. 10-13. The top 50 golfers after that event advance to the BMW Championship (Aug. 17-20). From there, the top 30 then move onto the Tour Championship in East Lake, Mich. (Aug. 24-27).
And while the PGA Tour winner receives a huge payday, they also are granted an all-important five-year exemption that allows them entry into PGA Tour events. Thus, there are a lot of reasons that players will want to get into the final 30 grouping to give themselves a shot at that title.
MORE: Best bets for the Wyndham Championship
FedEx Cup points system
The points system for the FedEx Cup is relatively simple. Golfers receive 500 points for winning normal PGA Tour events, while a select handful of events — the World Golf Championship, The Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament — are worth 550.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour’s four majors — the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship — are all worth 600 points. So too is the Players’ Championship, which is considered the unofficial fifth major.
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a two-man team event, awards 400 points each to the winners of the tournament. Other additional events can earn up to 300 points as well.
But winning isn’t the only way that golfers earn FedEx Cup points. Players that make the 36-hole cut automatically receive points for their performance. However, the point totals progressively decrease the further down the leaderboard a player drops, so just making a cut doesn’t guarantee that they will be able to move significantly up the leaderboard.
It’s also notable that the points system changes in the playoffs, as each event becomes increasingly valuable. The FedEx St. Jude Championship will earn 2,000 points. The same is true of the BMW Championship. Second place in those events grants a player 1,200 points, while third is worth 760. For a full playoff point breakdown, click here.
But still, with an 800-point gap between first and second, it is obviously preferable to win the event.
The points system goes out the window for the PGA Tour championship, where it’s all about watching a top golfer best his peers in stroke play. That said, the start is weighted based on the FedEx Cup standings: The player with the most points begins with a 10-under handicap while players in his pursuit can rank anywhere from 8 under to even par.
Here is the full handicap system:
- 1-seed: (10 under)
- 2-seed: (8 under)
- 3-seed: (7 under)
- 4-seed: (6 under)
- 5-seed: (5 under)
- Seeds 6-10: (4 under)
- Seeds 11-15: (3 under)
- Seeds 16-20: (2 under)
- Seeds 21-25: (1 under)
- Seeds 26-30: (par)
It’s worth noting that the No. 1 seed has won the Tour Championship in two of the last three seasons. However, Rory McIlroy was able to take home the title in 2022 after Scottie Scheffler faltered, despite his handicap.
McIlroy had started at 4-under par, so his ability to erase Scheffler’s six-stroke lead over four days was certainly impressive.
FedEx Cup standings 2023
Below is a look at the top 70 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings heading into the Wyndham Championship. These are subject to change during the course of the event, as several players on the outside of the top-70 will fight hard to make it into the postseason tournament.
| Rank | Golfer | Points |
| 1 | Jon Rahm | 3,320 |
| 2 | Scottie Scheffler | 3,146 |
| 3 | Rory McIlroy | 2,304 |
| 4 | Max Homa | 2,128 |
| 5 | Wyndham Clark | 1,944 |
| 6 | Brian Harman | 1,827 |
| 7 | Viktor Hovland | 1,795 |
| 8 | Keegan Bradley | 1,774 |
| 9 | Rickie Fowler | 1,732 |
| 10 | Tony Finau | 1,655 |
| 11 | Jason Day | 1,506 |
| 12 | Nick Taylor | 1,463 |
| 13 | Patrick Cantlay | 1,443 |
| 14 | Tom Kim | 1,422 |
| 15 | Sepp Straka | 1,413 |
| 16 | Xander Schauffele | 1,406 |
| 17 | Tyrrell Hatton | 1,381 |
| 18 | Si Woo Kim | 1,351 |
| 19 | Sam Burns | 1,284 |
| 20 | Emiliano Grillo | 1,275 |
| 21 | Collin Morikawa | 1,246 |
| 22 | Kurt Kitayama | 1,216 |
| 23 | Adam Schenk | 1,209 |
| 24 | Tommy Fleetwood | 1,184 |
| 25 | Denny McCarthy | 1,179 |
| 26 | Chris Kirk | 1,161 |
| 27 | Taylor Moore | 1,156 |
| 28 | Seamus Power | 1,133 |
| 29 | Corey Conners | 1,103 |
| 30 | Jordan Spieth | 1,099 |
| 31 | Justin Rose | 1,088 |
| 32 | Sahith Theegala | 1,065 |
| 33 | Lee Hodges | 1,052 |
| 34 | Russell Henley | 1,051 |
| 35 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 1,049 |
| 36 | Sungjae Im | 1,047 |
| 37 | Adam Svensson | 934 |
| 38 | Patrick Rodgers | 914 |
| 39 | Adam Hadwin | 908 |
| 40 | Eric Cole | 899 |
| 41 | Tom Hoge | 897 |
| T-42 | Brendon Todd | 893 |
| T-42 | Harris English | 893 |
| 44 | Mackenzie Hughes | 890 |
| T-45 | Cameron Young | 889 |
| T-45 | Andrew Putnam | 889 |
| 47 | Alex Smalley | 864 |
| 48 | Nick Hardy | 839 |
| 49 | J.T. Poston | 827 |
| 50 | Taylor Montgomery | 823 |
| 51 | Thomas Detry | 808 |
| 52 | Byeong Hun An | 796 |
| 53 | Davis Riley | 768 |
| 54 | Brandon Wu | 758 |
| 55 | Hayden Buckley | 754 |
| 56 | Hideki Matsuyama | 742 |
| 57 | Keith Mitchell | 698 |
| 58 | Mark Hubbard | 697 |
| 59 | Matt Kuchar | 680 |
| T-60 | Sam Stevens | 670 |
| T-60 | Aaron Rai | 670 |
| 62 | Sam Ryder | 660 |
| 63 | Beau Hossler | 658 |
| 64 | Stephan Jaeger | 641 |
| 65 | Matt NeSmith | 637 |
| 66 | Vincent Norrman | 631 |
| 67 | J.J. Spaun | 619 |
| 68 | Ben Griffin | 617 |
| 69 | Cam Davis | 605 |
| 70 | Austin Eckroat | 594 |
And below are some of the most notable players on the outside looking in as the PGA Tour playoff race kicks into high gear.
- Shane Lowry (76th, 556 points)
- Justin Thomas (T-78th, 546 points)
- Adam Scott (81st, 517 points)
- Gary Woodland (97th, 436 points)
- Billy Horschel (116th, 350 points)
Thanks to the large point totals awarded to the Wyndham Championship winner, all of the most notable golfers still have a chance to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs. It will just take a strong effort — perhaps even a win — to vault them into the top 70.
MORE: Brian Harman dominates at Royal Liverpool to win Open Championship
FedEx Cup playoffs schedule
FedEx St. Jude Championship
- Dates: Aug. 10-13
- Course: TPC Southwind
- Location: Memphis, Tenn.
The FedEx St. Jude Championship is the first stop on the PGA Tour’s three-tournament playoff circuit. It marks the second season that the event, played at the 7,244-yard TPC Southwind, will be a part of the playoffs (as opposed to a separate PGA Tour event).
The top 70 golfers will compete in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and 2022 runner-up Sepp Straka will get a chance to compete for his first playoff win. The winner of the event in 2022, Will Zalatoris, will not be playing because of a back injury that has sidelined him since the Masters.
There won’t be any cut at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, so all 70 golfers will have the opportunity to play a full four rounds. But at the end of the tournament, a total of 20 golfers will be cut as the playoffs continue.
BMW Championship
- Dates: Aug. 17-20
- Course: Wilmington Country Club
- Location: Wilmington, Del.
A total of 50 golfers will travel east to Delaware for the BMW Championship, which will be played at the Wilmington Country Club. Once again, there will be no 36-hole cut, allowing all playoff golfers to participate in the entire tournament.
The BMW Championship plays at 7,534 yards and favors the bigger hitters on the tour. Patrick Cantlay has won the event in back-to-back seasons and set the tournament scoring record alongside Bryson DeChambeau in 2021 when each shot 27 under during the event.
Tour Championship
- Dates: Aug. 24-27
- Course: East Lake Golf Club
- Location: Atlanta
East Lake Golf Club has hosted the PGA Tour Championship since 2004, and it remains the iconic finishing spot for the PGA’s top professionals. Rory McIlroy conquered East Lake in 2022 to take home the PGA Tour title — and also a very nice payday.
FedEx Cup payouts 2023
The FedEx Cup is once again set to hand out a massive prize pool of $75 million. The PGA Tour hasn’t yet announced exactly how it plans to divvy up the payouts for the tour championship, but given the similar prize pool, it’s safe to assume that they will be similar to the ones from 2022.
Below is a look at the FedEx Cup payouts from 2022:
| Position | Payout |
| 1 | $18 million |
| 2 | $6.5 million |
| 3 | $5 million |
| 4 | $4 million |
| 5 | $3 million |
| 6 | $2.5 million |
| 7 | $2 million |
| 8 | $1.5 million |
| 9 | $1.25 million |
| 10 | $1 million |
| 11 | $950,000 |
| 12 | $900,000 |
| 13 | $850,000 |
| 14 | $800,000 |
| 15 | $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 |
