The TOUR Championship is the PGA TOUR season’s Moment of Truth. Only the 30 best players on the PGA TOUR in a given year advance to the season finale at East Lake Golf Club where one player is crowned the FedExCup champion and receives the $18 million bonus that comes with it.
Qualifying for the TOUR Championship is a common goal shared by every member of the PGA TOUR, from those competing in their rookie year to the world’s top-ranked players.
NEW in 2023: It is harder than ever to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. In the past, the top 125 players qualified for the first Playoffs event. Beginning in 2023, that number is shrinking to only the top 70, placing more of an emphasis on Regular Season performance.
The FedExCup Playoffs begin with the top 70 in the FedExCup standings qualifying for the first event at FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee. The top 50 move on to the BMW Championship in Chicago before the top 30 earn the coveted invitation to compete in the TOUR Championship.
Starting Strokes Format
The top-30 players in the FedExCup standings through the previous week’s BMW Championship officially qualify for the TOUR Championship in Atlanta. To determine the FedExCup champion in Atlanta, the PGA TOUR institutes a strokes-based bonus system – Starting FedExCup Strokes – related to the FedExCup standings through the BMW Championship.
The FedExCup points leader after the first two Playoffs events will begin the TOUR Championship at 10-under par. The next four players will start at 8-under through 5-under, respectively. The next five will begin at 4-under, regressing by one stroke per five players until those ranked Nos. 26-30 start at even par.
Standings Position FedExCup Starting Strokes
1 -10
2 -8
3 -7
4 -6
5 -5
6-10 -4
11-15 -3
16-20 -2
21-25 -1
26-30 Even
The player with the lowest total score after four rounds including FedExCup Starting Strokes is the FedExCup champion and is credited with an official victory in the TOUR Championship competition.
Aside from the coveted trophy, the FedExCup champion will now receive $18 million, an increase from the $10 million prize from previous years.
Remember Last Year? Rory McIlroy started six strokes behind Scottie Scheffler and opened with a triple bogey to sit nine strokes off the lead. McIlroy clawed his way back and captured the lead for the first time with one hole to play on Sunday.
FedExCup Champions
Since the PGA TOUR introduced the FedExCup competition in 2007, several of the game’s biggest names have hoisted the unique Tiffany Co. trophy at East Lake Golf Club. In 2022, Rory McIlroy won his third FedExCup, breaking the tie between him and Tiger Woods.
2007 – Tiger Woods
2008 – Vijay Singh
2009 – Tiger Woods
2010 – Jim Furyk
2011 – Bill Haas
2012 – Brandt Snedeker
2013 – Henrik Stenson
2014 – Billy Horschel
2015 – Jordan Spieth
2016 – Rory McIlroy
2017 – Justin Thomas
2018 – Justin Rose
2019 – Rory McIlroy
2020 – Dustin Johnson
2021 – Patrick Cantlay
2022 – Rory McIlroy
Calamity Jane
Along with the FedExCup, the champion receives a Sterling Silver replica of the Calamity Jane, the namesake of the putter used by legendary golfer Bobby Jones who called East Lake home and made history by winning the Grand Slam in 1930 and capturing all four major championships in the same year.
The tradition began in 2005 when East Lake Golf Club first started presenting the champion with the replica putter.
Broadcast
TV Listings
- Thursday, Aug. 24
- 1 – 6 p.m. ET – GOLF Channel
- Friday, Aug. 25
- 1 – 6 p.m. ET – GOLF Channel
- Saturday, Aug. 26:
- 1 – 3 p.m. ET – GOLF Channel
- 3 – 7 p.m. ET – CBS
- Sunday, Aug. 27:
- 12 – 1:30 p.m. ET – GOLF Channel
- 1:30 – 6 p.m. ET – CBS
Worldwide, the TOUR Championship is broadcast across 200+ countries and territories in 26 languages via 44 local broadcast partners.
PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN +
PGA TOUR LIVE, is the PGA TOUR’s Over-The-Top subscription service, is now bigger than ever thanks to its new partnership with ESPN+. Fans can now access 4,300+ hours of live coverage from 35 PGA TOUR tournaments each year, including 4 days of coverage at 28 events with four feeds each day. Plus, access replays, originals, speed round recaps, and more.