The FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Cup playoffs are being overhauled for the 2019 season.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan unveiled a string of changes on Tuesday that go into place next year and are designed to simplify the playoff system, ending with the Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta with the $15 million finale. This season's Tour Championship includes a $10 million prize to the winner.
Among the noteworthy changes, the PGA Tour will trim the playoffs to three events and cut the field from 125 players to 70 after the Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) and entering the Dell Technologies Championship.
Monahan also said the PGA is upping the importance of the standings entering the Tour Championship with a strokes-based system that sets the player with the most FedEX Cup points at an opening score of 10-under par. The next golfer in the standings will begin at 8-under, the player in the third spot would be 7-under, and so on.
"Compared to the current system, the beauty here is in the simplicity," Monahan said Tuesday. "Fans are very familiar with golf leaderboards in relation to par, so they will have a clear understanding of the impact every shot makes during the final run for the FedExCup - ultimately leading to a singular champion without conflicting storylines."
The FedEx Cup playoffs were created in 2007.
If the strokes-based system was in place entering this week's Tour Championship, Bryson DeChambeau would begin Thursday's opening round 10-under and Justin Rose would be 8-under, Tony Finau (-7), Dustin Thomas (-6) and Justin Thomas (-5).
Under the current system, any player within the top five entering this week who wins the Tour Championship will also win the FedEx Cup. If a player outside of the top five wins at East Lake, the FedEx Cup champion will be determined by a points formula.
--Field Level Media