Golf’s Playoff Primer

08/19/2021

By: Jeff Yoder

PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs Tee Off Today With The Northern Trust at Liberty National

After the longest season in PGA Tour history (more than 50 events), golf’s three-week postseason has finally arrived. The FedEx Cup Playoffs tee off today from Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey for The Northern Trust. It’s the first of three events to name the Tour champion and dish out a $15 million purse. Here’s a quick rundown of how the next three weeks of golf will look:

 

FedEx Cup Playoffs Format

The playoffs consist of three events, including The Northern Trust, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. The playoffs also feature an ongoing cut line that trims the field to 30 by the final weekend.

 

Event | Date | Field

The Northern Trust | Aug. 19-22 | 125 Players

BMW Championship | Aug. 26-29 | 70 Players

Tour Championship | Sept. 2-5 | 30 Players

 

Trimming the Field: The top 125 players in the FedEx Cup standings will enter the field this weekend, but accumulative season points — not individual standings at each event — will determine who moves on. Points in FedEx Cup events will be quadrupled, but players who enter in the back of the standings will have a big hill to climb. Plus, starting strokes will give an advantage to players at the top of the leaderboard.

 

FedEx Cup Standings

1. Collin Morikawa (2,171 points)

2. Jordan Spieth (2,139 points)

3. Patrick Cantlay (2,056 points)

4. Harris English (2,039 points)

5. Jon Rahm (2,003 points)

6. Abraham Ancer (1,926 points)

7. Bryson DeChambeau (1,910 points)

8. Louis Oosthuizen (1,877 points)

9. Justin Thomas (1,758 points)

10. Sam Burns (1,721 points)

 

Notable Players: 13. Xander Schauffele (1,623 points), 14. Hideki Matsuyama (1,594 points), 15. Brooks Koepka (1,562 points), 17. Dustin Johnson (1,510 points), 22. Patrick Reed (1,381 points), 26. Rory McIlroy (1,291 points)

 

Full FedEx Cup Playoff Standings

 

Today’s Tee Times

8:04 AM: H. Matsuyama, B. Koepka, C. Smith

8:15 AM: R. McIlroy, M. Homa, C. Conners

8:15 AM: V. Hovland, J. Kokrak, X. Schauffele

8:26 AM: C. Morikawa, J. Spieth, P. Cantlay

8:26 AM: D. Berger, S. Scheffler, P. Reed

12:44 PM: D. Johnson, J. Niemann, S. Cink

12:55 PM: B. DeChambeau, J. Thomas, S. Burns

1:06 PM: J. Rahm, H. English, A. Ancer

 

All Round 1 Tee Times (Northern Trust)

 

Let the playoffs begin!

 

Additional Storylines

PGA: Player Power Rankings for the FedEx Cup Playoffs

GolfWeek: How the FedEx Cup Playoffs Work: Locations, Money, Starting Strokes

ESPN: Here Are the 125 Players Who Made it Into the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs