If you tuned in to the broadcast of the final round of the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, you probably noticed just how much attention was paid to players nowhere near the top of the leaderboard. That’s because, as the last tournament of the regular PGA Tour season, the Wyndham Championship was very consequential: it represented the final opportunity for players to earn a spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs, which start this week.
The FedEx St. Jude is the first tournament of the 2025 FedEx Cup playoff series. How does it all work? Here’s everything you need to know.
Overview
Starting in January, for each tournament a PGA Tour player competes in, he earns FedEx Cup points based on his finish. Winners of the Players Championship and majors get 750 points; Signature Event winners get 700 points; full-field event winners receive 500 points (except for the Zurich Classic, which awards 400 points to each winning team member); and winners of additional events receive 300 points. Other players in each field receive points in accordance with their finish.
At the end of the regular season (the Wyndham Championship), the top 70 players on the FedEx Cup points list are eligible for the first FedEx Cup playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude. The difference between No. 70, Matti Schmid, who is in, and No. 71, Davis Thompson, who is out? A mere 5 points.
Format
Scottie Scheffler is the top-ranked player on the points list heading into the first playoff event, with 4,806 points, followed by Rory McIlroy with 3,444 and Sepp Straka with 2,595. Schmid, mentioned above at No. 70, has 620 points.
The 70 players in the FedEx St. Jude field can build upon their current FedEx Cup point totals for the next two weeks, with quadruple points up for grabs — that’s 2,000 points for the winner. So there’s plenty of opportunity for upward advancement if you play well.
Why you won’t see Rory McIlroy at the FedEx Cup Playoffs opener
At the conclusion of the FedEx St. Jude, the top 50 players will move on to the BMW Championship, where they will again build upon their season-long FedEx Cup point totals with another chance to earn quadruple points. At the conclusion of the BMW Championship, the top 30 players will move on to the season finale, the Tour Championship, where points are no longer relevant and they will compete on an even playing field for the FedEx Cup title.
2025 FedEx Cup Playoff Schedule
The three playoff events will be played in successive weeks:
FedEx St. Jude – Aug. 7-10
BMW Championship – Aug. 14-17
Tour Championship – Aug. 21-24
What’s changed this year?
This year, instead of players being awarded “starting strokes” at the Tour Championship based on their FedEx Cup points ranking at the conclusion of the BMW Championship, players will compete on an even playing field from the beginning. They can earn or maintain their standing in the top 30 with the quadruple-points opportunity on offer over the next two weeks. But once you’re in, you’re in, and you have just as much of a chance to win as anyone else.
