News
The FedEx Cup overhaul is official. Here are the details
The PGA Tour substantiated the rumored changes to the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Tuesday, unveiling a new playoff format in general, an overhaul of the Tour Championship in particular, and a new regular season points race.
As had been previously established, the Tour will move from four playoff events to three. Most dramatically, the rumored staggered Tour Championship scoring, with the No. 1 player on the points list starting at 10 under, is now a reality. The next four players in the standings will being a 8 under through 5 under. No 6-10 will start at 4 under. Every five players after that will start a stroke further back, with No. 26 through 30 beginning at even par.
There will also now be a $10 million regular season bonus pool sponsored by Wyndham Rewards, aptly named the “Wyndham Rewards Top 10.”
The FedEx Cup Playoffs will wrap prior to Labor Day, thus finishing before the NFL season kicks off. The field for The Northern Trust will be 125 players, 70 for the BMW Championship, and 30 for the Tour Championship, with the points remaining the same for the first two events.
“This is a significant and exciting change for the PGA Tour, our players, our partners and – most importantly – our fans,” said PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan. “As soon as the Tour Championship begins, any fan – no matter if they’ve followed the PGA Tour all season or are just tuning in for the final event – can immediately understand what’s going on and what’s at stake for every single player in the field. And, of course, players will know exactly where they stand at all times while in play, which will ratchet up the drama, consequence and volatility of the competition down the stretch.”
Regarding the $10 million Wyndham Rewards Top 10, the Tour says it, “will also put an even greater premium on excelling over the course of the FedExCup Regular Season.”
The leader of the top 10 will earn $2 million, with the runner-up pocketing $1.5 million. The existing FedEx Cup bonus pool will now total $60 million—$25 million more than the existing pool. Accordingly, the FedEx Cup champion will earn $15 million, rather than the $10 million in the current system.
Alternatively, there’s Geoff Shackelford’s summary of the changes: “This will be easier to follow than the current system where algorithms proved consistently boring to follow. This has to be better…the FedExCup as we knew it, did not work.”
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GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.
From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
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SuperStroke announced today its purchase of 100-year-old grip maker Lamkin Grips, citing the company’s “heritage of innovation and quality.”
“It is with pride and great gratitude that we announce Lamkin, a golf club grip brand with a 100-year history of breakthrough design and trusted products, is now a part of the SuperStroke brand,” says SuperStroke CEO Dean Dingman. “We have always had the utmost respect for how the Lamkin family has put the needs and benefits of the golfer first in their grip designs. If there is a grip company that is most aligned with SuperStroke’s commitment to uncompromised research, design, and development to put the most useful performance tools in the hands of golfers, Lamkin has been that brand. It is an honor to bring Lamkin’s wealth of product innovation into the SuperStroke family.”
Elver B. Lamkin founded the company in 1925 and produced golf’s first leather grips. The company had been family-owned and operated since that point, producing a wide array of styles, such as the iconic Crossline.
According to a press release, “The acquisition of Lamkin grows and diversifies SuperStroke’s proven and popular array of grip offerings with technology grounded in providing golfers optimal feel and performance through cutting-edge design and use of materials, surface texture and shape.”
CEO Bob Lamkin will stay on as a board member and will continue to be involved with the company.
“SuperStroke has become one of the most proven, well-operated, and pioneering brands in golf grips and we could not be more confident that the Lamkin legacy, brand, and technology is in the best of hands to continue to innovate and lead under the guidance of Dean Dingman and his remarkably capable team,” Lamkin said.
Related: Check out our 2014 conversation with Bob Lamkin, here: Bob Lamkin on the wrap grip reborn, 90 years of history
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Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.
It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.
PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place
The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.
This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.
With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.
360° and in!
A nervy par save by @TaylorPendrith to remain one back as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory @CJByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/LVFXUSidSg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2024
DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four
It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.
It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.
.@adrianotaegui birdies the 16th to tie the lead at -17 ?#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/p4tfE5DRJa
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 5, 2024
PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella
Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.
64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.
.@TBalla21 eagles 17, shoots 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the KIA Open. pic.twitter.com/TTOL2LxSdh
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 4, 2024
PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win
Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.
The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.
Off the green? No worries for @ScottDu12500063
8-under solo leader @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/hoj5OujL5C
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2024
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Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
John Daly stuns fans into silence with brutal opening tee shot on PGA Tour Champions
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you
‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters
Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters
Report: LIV Golf identifies latest star name they hope to sign to breakaway tour
Neal Shipley presser ends in awkward fashion after reporter claims Tiger handed him note on 8th fairway
Webb Simpson WITB 2024 (May)
Webb Simpson what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
Keegan Bradley WITB 2024 (May)
Keegan Bradley’s WITB accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. >14 clubs pictured. Obviously, Bradley will reduce that number to...
Peter Kuest WITB 2024 (May)
Peter Kuest what’s in the bag accurate as of CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (8 degrees)...
Kelly Kraft WITB 2024 (May)
Kelly Kraft’s what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here. ...
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19th Hole2 weeks agoJustin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
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19th Hole2 weeks ago‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage
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19th Hole3 weeks agoBrandel Chamblee has ‘no doubt’ who started the McIlroy/LIV rumor and why
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19th Hole2 weeks agoLET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
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19th Hole6 days agoGary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career
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Whats in the Bag1 week agoTeam McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic
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19th Hole3 weeks agoTaylorMade signs 15-year-old AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year to an NIL contract
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19th Hole1 week agoLIV star splits with swing coach after working together for 14 years
SNAKE FARR
Aug 16, 2019 at 5:38 pm
Pga tour has officially been reduced to a net event? Will 2020 usopen give the defending champ a 10 under par start before any one hits a shot? Welcome to the 8th flight club tournament at Bushwood !!!! Changing basic rules of golf scoring so tv watchers that have never played wont get confused. Pga be ashamed!!
P Cleeve
Sep 20, 2018 at 4:26 am
This will totally alienate ALL viewers and leave the PGA Tour totally alone Internationally, whereas the other Tours will now go forward by being guided, not by greed and demand to be the “ONLY” tour, but by being receptive to informed viewers requests and a genuine interest in ALL players best interests no matter what standing they have. Greed is a killer.
Mat
Sep 20, 2018 at 2:22 am
Just to add to the reasons this is stupid, not that it should require any more…
The incentive is now that the top seed will be rewarded for playing *conservatively*. Think about that… play it safe is the right way to play. That’s just so backwards.
If you think you should be giving an advantage, fine. I’d be ok with giving major winners a first round match bye, and I’d also be fine with an even match going to the higher seed after 18, no playoff. Seeding becomes a natural advantage. But the idea that the scoring of a single tournament will be modified makes this right about a local over-50’s weekender.
I honestly hope this costs the commissioner his job. Where other parts of the world are getting rave reviews for 6s golf, this is going to be the short, mistake era of the PGA.
Tom54
Sep 19, 2018 at 6:00 pm
I agree with many of the comments about how asinine this new formula is for the FedEx playoffs. Hopefully before the new wraparound season starts which by the was is pretty dumb too,they will have time to come up with something better. Who in the world thought this through gods sake?
Ron Owens
Sep 19, 2018 at 4:29 pm
Really? A tournament where players start at various strokes under par? Stupid!
Everyone starts at zero and plays the game. Best man wins. What’s so difficult about that?
HDTVMAN
Sep 19, 2018 at 1:23 pm
I just looked up the definition of the PGA Tour in the on-line dictionary: “A very rich group of gentlemen, who play for extremely large amounts of money, a 501c3 non-profit, lead by a commissioner and board equivalent to the characters in ‘Dumb & Dumber'”.
Gary Ahlert
Sep 19, 2018 at 1:00 pm
This is beyond stupid. Either these guys are on drugs or ought to be. Absolutely nuts. Ta Ta PGA. Youve lost me as viewr. Stop trying to gimic everything up
GHN
Sep 19, 2018 at 12:32 pm
I like it! It is simply not a normal tour event it is the FedEx Cup playoff and giving the leader 10 strokes over the last 4 guys in the field makes perfect sense. It will be much better then trying to figure out what is on the white board! The players and the fans will know where everyone stands and every player will know what they need to do to win.
Yawning
Sep 19, 2018 at 12:23 pm
You’ve made it simpler Mr. Monahan, simply buzz killing. Handicaps are for Ams.
Just neck the field down a couple times to 30, then match play with one seeding bye for the top 10 ranked players, based on season performance. But since the press releases already went out it seems we will have to endure at least one farce, the 2019 FedEx cup.
While you are in a “simplifying” mood, how about dumping the wrap-around season and go back to traditional calendar based scheduling ?
Dan
Sep 19, 2018 at 10:31 am
Oh and by the way it wasn’t the Playoffs or the Tour Championship format that needed revamping. It was the points accrued throughout the season. How is a player that hasn’t won at all ranked higher than a player who has won 2 majors. There is your problem!!
Dan
Sep 19, 2018 at 9:43 am
Wow! Now I’ve heard it all. We are giving professional golfers handicaps. What a sham. Pretty surprised the player’s board allowed that to happen. Now the Tour Championship is a meaningless made for TV event. Hot garbage!!
Roy
Sep 19, 2018 at 9:07 am
Guess there is a reason the NFL dosen’t start the playoffs with one team up 14-0 at the opening kickoff….
Scheiss
Sep 19, 2018 at 3:09 am
So, so dumb.
It should be simple, like this:
Play the usual season and collect moneys as usual; the top 144 of the Money List qualify for the Final 4 events. No need for points. No need to worry about who won how many times. Just make them all just go out there and get the moneys.
Then play cut-line.
1st Final Event, the 144 players get cut to 108.
QuarterFinal, cut to 72.
SemiFinal, cut to 36.
Final, just 1 Winner. Gets the Cup.
Simples!
They’ll be hungry and will be gunning for it at the end. No need to shuffle anything around, no points needed, just do it by earnings to qualify.
bogeypro
Sep 18, 2018 at 9:52 pm
wow, just wow…. no words for how dumb this is. just do a 32 man match play. Handicapping a pga event is ridiculous.
Mat
Sep 19, 2018 at 7:52 am
Couldn’t agree more. I’d prefer nothing better than a simple bracket. I’d want 28, so that your four major winners get a bye.
But anything other than match play is revolting.
Jacob Bengtson
Sep 18, 2018 at 9:40 pm
Garbage, match play or nothing. Looks like I won’t even be watching anything after the Us open for the 20th year in a row.
Liberty Apples
Sep 18, 2018 at 8:50 pm
So the Tour Championship is now a handicapped event? Utter nonsense.
Rebill One
Sep 18, 2018 at 6:39 pm
I thought the real final event was Phil vs Tiger.
Jill Ouellette
Sep 18, 2018 at 4:36 pm
Really dumb thing to do! We don’t care if one person wins the Tour Championship and another the Cup. If you make it to the final 30, you should have an equal chance in the Tour Championship. Your overall performance should be the determining factor, not just one tournament. What you’ve done does not increase interest–in fact, just the opposite.
Jack
Sep 19, 2018 at 9:41 am
You are so right Jill! The entire PGA Tour staff should be tested for substance abuse. That has to be the only explanation for this mind-numbing decision.
emb
Sep 18, 2018 at 3:35 pm
so you’re 6th in points for the entire year and you start the Tour Championship 6 shots back? that seems a little extreme, I feel like the leader is given too much of an advantage but I’m sure they’ll tweak it after next year as well depending on results. Wonder how long it’ll be before they go 2 full seasons without changing anything
Knarls Barkley
Sep 18, 2018 at 3:16 pm
I still think Greg Norman got jobbed for having come up with this idea of an elite level playoff system, presenting it to the Tour, and they poo poo’d it, ONLY TO PRESENT THEIR OWN VERSION OF IT!! AND THE SYSTEM IS STILL COCAMAMIE NONSENSE!!
Ryan Michael
Sep 18, 2018 at 3:15 pm
128 man match play event make it short and sweet for all the marbles and most importantly it simplifies things!
dat
Sep 18, 2018 at 2:53 pm
This scoring system sounds like something a network exec. came up with who has never played golf in his life.
Graham Fee
Sep 18, 2018 at 2:18 pm
I really dislike this, seems very foolish to change a system that was working to something convoluted. If this is a reaction to the possibility of someone winning the FedEx Cup without a win, it sure is an extreme reaction. I have no issue with Finau winning the Cup – shows he has been playing well all year. I like the regular season race – good addition. The starting a tournament with under-par scores already on the board – no thanks! I think this cheapens the perception of the Tour Championship overall.
kevin
Sep 18, 2018 at 2:56 pm
if the winner of the final event didn’t take home the fedex trophy….it wasn’t a playoff.
no one likes watching an event where math is needed to calulate whether or not the guy finishing the last tournament in 2nd or 3rd would actually be the overall winner.
the new system, although not perfect, is a step in right direction. however i’d rather see a final 8 match play event.
Rebill One
Sep 18, 2018 at 6:40 pm
Final 8 match play is a great idea!
Tom
Sep 18, 2018 at 1:46 pm
The timing of this is strange, two days before the 2018 finals you reveal the next version?
Basically inferring the current program isn’t very good, puts a cloud over this week’s event?
kevin
Sep 18, 2018 at 2:56 pm
agreed. but it wasn’t a secret the current system is garbage
Midwest Blade
Sep 18, 2018 at 1:14 pm
Seems like they are really forcing the effort to create something exciting. These season ending events look more and more like every other event during the season and are probably not gaining much in audience or interest. There are always certain events throughout the year that I do really enjoy watching, The Masters has always been the start to the season, followed by the US Open, The Open and finally the PGA. Throw in The Players and a couple of other events like the old Western Open, anything played at Firestone and that was a wrap for the majority of my golf viewing. Week after week of golf tournaments looking like the week before are not gaining fans. Weekly money is so large that fields in the off weeks seem to be getting weaker and weaker. All the top players schedule for the major’s, WGC’s (non cut events, guarantees $’s) and a few other events. Why can’t the season end with a simple two event run, top 80 make the series which is then cut to 40 for a final tour championship, simple, clean and easy to understand. No strokes, no points, simply top 80 on the money list make the finals.