Wyndham 'finale' has its own rewards
Last chance for players to get in playoffs and lock up lucrative FedEx Cup bonuses
Keegan Bradley is in Wyndham field hoping to hold on to top-10 bonus (Alex Pantling/R&A via Getty Images)
The Wyndham Championship marks the last week of the PGA Tour’s regular season. The reality of the tour’s altered playoff structure of the past few years is that the end comes quickly. No sooner are we done with the final major championship and suddenly we’re talking about the end of the season.
Well, sort of.
The Wyndham at Sedgefield Country Club is the final full-field event of the FedEx Cup season. That is a qualified distinction because seven more fall events follow the playoffs. But in order to qualify for the three-tournament run that begins next week in Memphis, Tenn., at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, players must be among the top 70 in FedEx Cup points at the conclusion of this week’s tournament in Greensboro, N.C.
This marks the third year of the set-up that saw the PGA Tour reduce the number of playoff participants from 100 to 70 and also put a premium on getting to the BMW Championship for the top 50 players. Not only does that prolong the season and chance to reach the Tour Championship at East Lake, but it assures those 50 players of being in all eight of the 20 million signature events in 2026. The means more financial opportunities along with more FedEx Cup points.
Among those currently outside of the top 70 are the Højgaard twins (Nicolai at 71 and Rasmus at 82) along with the likes of Chris Kirk (73), Gary Woodland (75), Adam Scott (84) and Tom Kim (89).
Scott, in particular, offers a cautionary tale. He was eligible for all for the signature events this year but didn’t take advantage. His best finish is a tie for 12th at the U.S. Open and he has just two top-20 finishes. So while there has been considerable chatter about the advantage given to those who qualify for the short-field signature events, it offers no guarantees.
For those who finish outside of the top 70 come Sunday night, the season is not over. Although players in the top 80, for the most part, are mostly mathematically assured of staying within the top 100 at the end of the fall season, it’s not a guarantee. So there might be more work to do after they get a month off while the playoffs go on.
That is due to the PGA Tour’s switch for 2026 that will see only the top 100 players — down from 125 — be fully exempt for next season. That is a controversial move that is bound to draw plenty more discussion going forward. It should be noted that those who rank 101 to 125 will still have numerous playing opportunities in 2026 in nearly all of the regular events and the fall tournaments. But it’s not assured, thus the push to get inside the top 100 after the RSM Classic the week before Thanksgiving.
There are also major financial implications at play in the next few weeks. The PGA Tour didn’t make a big deal out of the money part of the change to the FedEx Cup and Tour Championship structure, but the alterations in bonus payouts are significant. It starts this week, as the Wyndham Championship will determine the top 10 players in the FedEx Cup points who will split $40 million from the $100 millions Fed Ex Cup bonus pool that had previously been allotted for the end-of-season final standings.
Scottie Scheffler will get most of his bonus money up front this season (David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Basically, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will get a nice windfall this week, even though they are not playing with No. 1 in points picking up $10 million and second $4 million on down to $500,000 for 10th. That’s in addition to another $40 million pot in the Comcast Business bonus for the top 10 which presents $8 million for first place, descending to $2 million for 10th place.
That means Scheffler, who can’t be bounced out of the top spot, will collect $18 million at week’s end while McIlroy will pick up a collective $6 million himself for being locked in second.
The potential to double dip in that top-10 kitty is designed to entice get players to show up at the Wyndham regular-season finale. That likely explains why U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is playing the Wyndham this week to protect his spot at No. 10 in the FedEx Cup standings. He’s all but a lock to make the Tour Championship in three weeks and doesn’t really need to improve his standing in his own eyes regarding the potential to be a playing captain at Bethpage Black. But he can earn $500,000 in FedEx bonus money and another $2 million for finishing 10th in the Comcast Business pool if he retains that spot. There is no bonus money this week beyond the 10th position.
Ben Griffin (7th), Bradley (10) Andrew Novak (12) and Robert MacIntyre (15) are the only top-20 players in the FedEx Cup standings in the field this week at Sedgefield.
The PGA Tour has divided the bonus money to better reflect season-long performance with plenty still to play for in the playoffs. The overall bonus pool is $100 million but is doled out at three intervals — $40 million this week; roughly $23 million to the top 30 after the BMW Championship and the remaining $57 million after the Tour Championship.
So instead of $25 million going to the winner at East Lake — which is the winner of the winner of the FedEx Cup — it will be $10 million for a $40 million purse (the remaining $17.08 million is divvied up in deferrals split among players ranked 31-150). The first two playoff events still have $20 million purses while the leader in points after the BMW Championship gets a $5 million with bonus payouts down to 30th place before getting to Atlanta.
So Scheffler — if he remains No. 1 through the BMW and then wins the Tour Championship again — would still receive the same $25 million overall in FedEx Cup bonuses he got for winning the Tour Championship it all last year. It’s simply a fairer distribution and doesn’t put it all on winning one event and potentially penalize the best player over the course of the season for having one bad week at the end.