For the first time since 2018, some prize money earned at the Tour Championship will count toward PGA Tour players’ career earnings.
In yet another change surrounding next week’s playoff finale, a large portion of the $40 million purse will be considered “official money,” the PGA Tour confirmed to Front Office Sports.
From 2019 to 2024, payouts at the 30-player Tour Championship (which topped out at $81.25 million last year) came through FedEx Cup bonuses and were not considered official money, so they didn’t count toward a player’s career earnings. From 2007 to 2018, it was possible for the Tour Championship winner and FedEx Cup winner to be different players. The Tour Championship had a purse that was counted as official money. The additional FedEx Cup bonus money was not counted as official money.
During the most recent six-year run, the tournament used the controversial starting strokes format to crown the season-long champion, who took home $25 million each of the past two years. Scottie Scheffler won last year, contributing to his $62.2 million 2024 season. However, $33 million of that came via bonuses, and just $29.2 million was official money, which is counted in his career earnings that currently stand at $92.15 million.
This year, starting strokes have been eliminated, and the Tour Championship is now a straight-up, 72-hole stroke-play event, with the winner also being declared the FedEx Cup champion, earning $10 million. Due to that format change, the PGA Tour altered how it distributes FedEx Cup bonus money. An initial payout occurred after the regular season, and another one will take place following this week’s BMW Championship.
At East Lake Golf Club, in a somewhat complicated format, $25.33 million of the Tour Championship purse will be distributed as “FedEx Cup cash,” which will be considered official money. The remaining $14.67 million will be paid as deferrals, which won’t be considered official money.
Players at the top of the leaderboard will earn more cash than deferrals, while those outside the top 10 will earn more deferrals than cash. Take the Tour Championship winner’s $10 million prize, for example: $9 million will be paid as FedEx Cup cash, and count toward official money, while $1 million will be paid as a deferral, and won’t count toward official money. The tournament’s last-place finisher will earn $355,000, with $100,000 coming as cash and $255,000 as a deferral.
While the move marks a significant change, it shouldn’t drastically inflate career earnings for most of the Tour Championship field, outside the top few players. The $25.33 million of official money up for grabs is slightly higher than the $25 million purse at the Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship regular-season event.
The Tour Championship is likely to undergo further changes in 2026, which could bring more shifts to the tournament’s prize money structure and the FedEx Cup.
