The regular season of the PGA Tour is over. One notable moment this year was Joohyung Kim becoming the first player born in the 2000s (2002) to win on the PGA Tour by securing a five-stroke victory at the Wyndham Championship this previous weekend. By doing so, he secured his PGA Tour card for next season and vaulted himself all the way to 35th place in the FedEx Cup standings—not bad for only his second tour event!

With the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship, the final three events of the PGA Tour season are set to begin this week with the FedEx Cup playoffs. These three events culminate with the Tour Championship and the winner of that event takes homes the FedEx Cup and the $17 million grand purse!

How The FedEx Cup Works

Some of the format and the structure of how points are awarded have shifted since the inception of the FedEx Cup, but the current format of the season-long point race has remained the same since 2019. Winners of each regular season PGA Tour event are awarded 500 points and winners of any of the four Majors (the Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship) and the Players Championship are given 600 points for those victories. Points are then tiered down for each event and awarded to every player that makes the cut each week based on their finishing position.

At the conclusion of the regular season (this past weekend’s Wyndham Championship), the players inside the top 125 FedEx Cup points qualify for the playoffs. The field is trimmed each week during the three playoff events, and the points awarded for each of the playoff tournaments are much higher, with the winner receiving 2000 points.

The 2022 FedEx St. Jude Invitational

• Date: August 11-14, 2022
• Field Size: 125
• Course: TPC Southwind in Memphis, TN
  • Par 70, 7243 yards
• Last Year’s Winner: Tony Finau

Tournament Storylines

Now that the regular season is over, the pressure is on for the bottom half of the field to stay in the Top 70 of the FedEx Cup Rankings in order to advance to next week’s BMW Championship. To do so, players must navigate a new tour course at TPC Southwind. This is the first time the tour has stopped at this venue, but the Tour is no stranger to Memphis. The city has hosted an event every year since 1958.

This track has a lot of streams, ponds, and thick Bermuda rough. Last year, the FedEx St. Just Championship tournament scoring average was just 1 under par (69), so it’s sure to be a great test for the world’s best!

Power Rankings

5. Xander Schaueffele: Has won three times this year after going winless in 2021 and 2020. Most recently finished tied for 15th at The Open Championship with a tie for 14th at the U.S. Open and a tie for 13th at The PGA Championship.

4. Rory McIlroy: One of the few players that have won the FedEx Cup twice. He is the season's leader in adjusted scoring average and suffered a heartbreaking second-place finish at The Open Championship last month. He has won twice on tour this year—last October at The CJ Cup and in June at the RBC Canadian Open. He has flirted with every major this year with two top fives and one top ten.

3. Patrick Cantlay: Last year's FedEx Cup champion. He won both the BMW Championship in a thrilling playoff over Bryson DeChambeau and then won at Eastlake Golf Club to claim the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup. No player has ever won the FedEx Cup in back-to-back seasons, but Patrick’s game seems to be rounding into form at the perfect time after a tie for second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

2. Cam Smith: The Open Championship winner has been on a tear this year with a victory and his first Major Championship at St. Andrew’s, as well as a victory at The Player’s Championship in March. Smith is firmly nestled up behind Scottie Scheffler as the No. 2 player in Official World Golf Rankings. He also won The Sentry Tournament of Champions in January to kick off the season! There are rumors swirling that he is destined for the LIV Tour with an offer north of $200 million floating out there. Can he win the FedEx Cup before bouncing over to the rival tour?

1. Tony Finau: The hottest golfer on the planet for the past 75 days. He has a solo second at the RBC Canadian Open (finishing behind Rory McIlroy), a top 30 finish at the Open Championship, and then victories in back-to-back weeks at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic—including setting the scoring record at the Rocket Mortgage Classic by finishing at -26 under par! The defending champion is in a prime position to capture this title for the second time in as many years and position himself perfectly for his biggest victory yet: the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup!

Highlights

Will Zalatoris became just the second golfer to win his first PGA Tour event during the PGA Tour Playoffs. He beat Sepp Straka after a three-hole playoff and captured the FedEx St. Jude Championship. A primary reason Zalatoris has been near the top of the leaderboard but hasn’t captured a title yet was due to some shaky putting mechanics. But he has seemingly figured that aspect of his game out and looks to be a force moving forward!

What’s in Will Zalatoris' Bag?

• Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 Degrees); Fujikura Speeder TR 661 X-Stiff
• Fairway: Titleist TSR2+ (13 Degrees); Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
• Irons: Titleist T200 (3-Utility Build), Titleist T100 (4-PW); True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
• Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-08F, 54-10S bent to 55), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (60-T); True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
• Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X T11 Prototype; Superstroke Traxion Tour

The 2022 BMW Championship

• Date: August 18-21, 2022
• Field Size: 70
• Course: Wilmington Country Club (South Course) in Wilmington, DE
  • Par 71, 7488 yards

Power Rankings

The second event and perhaps the most pressure-packed event of the PGA Tour Playoffs is this week. The BMW Championship will be held at Wilmington Country Club (South Course) in Wilmington, DE. This week, the remaining 70 players race to finish in the top 30 to punch their ticket to the Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, GA.

Current power rankings for East Lake according to the oddsmakers in Vegas are:

• Rory McIlroy: +1100
• Jon Rahm: +1200
• Cameron Smith: +1400
• Matt Fitzpatrick: +1400
• Tony Finau: +1400
• Will Zalatoris: +1400

Highlights

Patrick Cantlay became the first golfer since the inception of the FedEx Cup in 2008 to successfully defend a playoff title by winning the 2022 BMW Championship! Cantlay had somewhat of a slow season by his standards. This was his first individual win of the season, he did win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with good friend Xander Schaueffele back in April, but that doesn’t count as an individual title.

Speaking of his good friend Xander—that was the man Patrick was paired with for the final round of the BMW. Schaueffele started the round one shot back of Cantlay but ultimately couldn’t get it going and shot even par for the day to finish three shots back of his good friend. The playoff field is now trimmed to 30 players competing for the Tour Championship and the ultimate prize—the FedEx Cup (with $18 million)—going to the winner!

What’s in Patrick Cantlay's Bag?

• Driver: Titleist TS3 (9.5 degree); Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX Shaft
• Fairway Wood: Titleist 915F (15 degree); Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 70 TX Shaft
• Hybrid: Titleist TS2 (21 degree); Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 80 TX Shaft
• Irons: Titleist 718 AP2 4-9iron; True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 Tour Issue X100 Shafts
• Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 (46, 52, 56 degree); True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 Shafts; Titleist Vokey SM8 (61 degree Proto);  True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300 Shafts
• Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X T5 Proto

The 2022 Tour Championship

• Date: August 25-28, 2022
• Field Size: 25
• Course: East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA
  • Par 72, 7397 yards

Power Rankings

The Tour Championship starts off with the leader of the FedEx Cup rankings at 10 under par; then each player in the rankings behind the leader starts in a staggered position two shots back.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler starts the week in the driver seat at 10 under par, Patrick Cantlay starts two shots back at 8 under par and is trying to become the first player ever to defend a FedEx Cup title. Several players such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have won multiple FedEx Cups, but no player has ever won in back-to-back years!

5. Rory McIlroy: Starts the week at 4 under par and six back of the leaders. He is currently the tour leader in adjusted scoring average and trying to become the first player to hoist the FedEx Cup three times. However, six shots back to start the week is a massive mountain to climb.

4. Jon Rahm: With a somewhat slow year, Rahm barely made it into the playoffs, aside from recently welcoming his second child. However, he has come on strong at the end of this year, finishing tied for 5th and tied for 8th in the two playoff events so far. He also leads the field in strokes gained off the tee in the playoffs and, last year, had the best aggregate score at the Tour Championship.

3. Xander Schauffele: Starts at 6 under and four back of Scottie Scheffler. He won the Tour Championship in 2017 at East Lake Golf Club. He is second in adjusted scoring average this season behind Rory McIlroy.

2. Patrick Cantlay: Starts two shots back of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at 8 under par. His game is rounding into form at the perfect time, and he cruised through last year's Tour Championship. Can he make history and lift the FedEx Cup two years in a row?

1. Scottie Scheffler: The only four-time winner on Tour this year. The world's best golfer hasn't won since The Masters, but he has finished second twice, including at the U.S. Open and in a playoff at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May. He finished in a tie for third last week at the BMW Championship and we might see him find the game that elevated him to best in the world earlier this season. I am predicting he captures the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup and puts a stamp on PGA Tour Player of the Year this week!

If you have any questions about the FedEx Cup, any of the clubs the pros are using this week, or just want to chat about golf, feel free to reach out to me or any of our other awesome Golf Experts here on Curated, and we will be happy to connect!