The end of the 2021-22 PGA Tour regular season has arrived.
The field of golfers has officially been cut down to the top 125 over the past year, and they are set to begin the FedEx Cup playoffs. Over the next two weeks, the field will be cut down even more, until there are only 30 golfers left, who will each compete for the largest purse on the tour.
Scottie Scheffler heads into the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs leading the standings with 3,556 points, more than 1,200 ahead of second-place Cameron Smith. But in the playoffs, it won’t take much for that lead to be shrunk down, as the point values are drastically increased.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2022 FedEx Cup, including standings, rules, points, schedules and payouts.
FedEx Cup standings 2022
Once the BMW Championship has concluded, there will be only 30 golfers left competing for the Tour Championship.
Here is a look at the standings since the Wyndham Championship, which was won by Joohyung Kim.
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scottie Scheffler | 3,556 |
| 2 | Cameron Smith | 2,335 |
| 3 | Sam Burns | 2,275 |
| 4 | Xander Schauffele | 2,153 |
| 5 | Patrick Cantlay | 2,108 |
| 6 | Rory McIlroy | 2,104 |
| 7 | Tony Finau | 1,912 |
| 8 | Justin Thomas | 1,783 |
| 9 | Cameron Young | 1,774 |
| 10 | Sungjae Im | 1,733 |
| 11 | Hideki Matsuyama | 1,697 |
| 12 | Will Zalatoris | 1,680 |
| 13 | Max Homa | 1,625 |
| 14 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 1,596 |
| 15 | Jordan Spieth | 1,574 |
| 16 | Jon Rahm | 1,449 |
| 17 | Tom Hoge | 1,424 |
| 18 | Billy Horschel | 1,403 |
| 19 | Viktor Hovland | 1,314 |
| 20 | Talor Gooch | 1,302 |
| 21 | Joaquin Niemann | 1,228 |
| 22 | J.T. Poston | 1,146 |
| 23 | Collin Morikawa | 1,089 |
| 24 | Davis Riley | 1,045 |
| 25 | Seamus Power | 990 |
| 26 | J.J. Spaun | 985 |
| 27 | Cameron Tringale | 957 |
| 28 | Aaron Wise | 952 |
| 29 | Shane Lowry | 942 |
| 30 | Luke List | 938 |
How do the FedEx Cup playoffs work?
Throughout the past 11 months, golfers have earned points in the regular season that count toward the FedEx Cup playoffs. The final event of the regular season was the Wyndham Championship, which ended on Aug. 7, and netted Kim 500 points.
Now, the 125 golfers with the most points will move to the FedEx Cup playoffs. First on the schedule is the FedEx St. Jude Championship. From there, the field will be cut down to the top 70, who will advance to the BMW Championship. The top 30 will then move to the Tour Championship.
Winning the Tour Championship is not only worth a big payday, but also grants a tour exemption for the next five years.
MORE: Why a judge denied LIV Golf players’ attempt to participate in FedEx Cup playoffs
FedEx Cup points system
Throughout the season, different events are worth varying point totals. Golfers receive 500 points for winning normal PGA Tour events and 550 for the World Golf Championships, The Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament.
For winning the Masters, PLAYERS, US Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship, golfers will earn 600 points. Any additional events during the year can earn a golfer 300 points.
Even if golfers don’t win events, they still earn points. So long as they make the 36-hole cut, they will automatically receive points. However, the point totals progressively get lower the further down the list the golfers go.
But now that it’s time for the playoffs, the ante has been upped. The golfer that wins the FedEx St. Jude Championship will earn 2,000 points. The golfer that wins the BMW Championship will earn 2,000 points. Second place earns 1,200, third earns 760 and progressively further down. But with an 800-gap between first and second, it’s obviously preferred to win the event. Click here for a look at the full breakdown of playoff points.
When the Tour Championship arrives, the points no longer count for the golfers. Instead, the points are used to determine the handicap each golfer will begin the Tour Championship with. Having the most points by the time the event comes around earns a very nice 10 under handicap. The golfer with that handicap has won the Tour Championship in back-to-back years.
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)
FedEx Cup playoffs schedule
FedEx St. Jude Championship
- Dates: Aug. 11-14
- Course: TPC Southwind
- Location: Memphis, Tenn.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs will begin in Memphis, Tenn., with the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind. This tournament used to be the host of the World Golf Championship from 2019-21, and took place in June, but now will open the playoffs.
BMW Championship
- Dates: Aug. 18-21
- Course: Wilmington Country Club
- Location: Wilmington, Del.
The top 70 golfers will travel east to Delaware for the BMW Championship to play at the Wilmington Country Club. There will be no cut, regardless of how the golfers finish the first 36 holes.
Tour Championship
- Dates: Aug. 24-28
- Course: East Lake Golf Club
- Location: Atlanta
East Lake Golf Club remains the host of the Tour Championship, just as it has since 2004. This will be the last chance golfers have to earn a major payday before the end of the season.
FedEx Cup payouts 2022
The golfer that wins the FedEx Cup playoffs will come away with a massive amount of prize money. The winner takes home a $18 million from a total prize pool of $75 million. There is a steep gap between first and second: the second-place finisher earns just $6.5 million.
Here is a look at the bonus structure for 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 |
And here’s a look at how the field shook out in 2021:
| Position | Player | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Cantlay | $15 million |
| 2 | Jon Rahm | $5 million |
| 3 | Kevin Na | $4 million |
| 4 | Justin Thomas | $3 million |
| 5 | Viktor Hovland | $2.5 million |
| 6 | Xander Schauffele | $1.9 million |
| 7 | Bryson DeChambeau | $1.3 million |
| 8 | Dustin Johnson | $1.1 million |
| 9 | Abraham Ancer | $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 |
| 15 | Rory McIlroy | $595,000 |
| 16 | Louis Oosthuizen | $570,000 |
| 17 | Cameron Smith | $550,000 |
| 18 | Sam Burns | $535,000 |
| 19 | Harris English | $520,000 |
| 20 | Sungjae Im | $505,000 |
| 21 | Jordan Spieth | $490,000 |
| 22 | Corey Conners | $478,000 |
| 23 | Scottie Scheffler | $466,000 |
| 24 | Erik 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 Koepka | $395,000 |
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