FedEx Cup Points 2023: Explaining Distribution and Standings

The PGA Tour's three-week run to crown a champion starts on Thursday at the FedEx-St. Jude Championship in Memphis.

On August 27, the FedEx Cup champion will be determined at the Tour Championship, but first the field has to be narrowed down from 70 to 30.

The top 70 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings enter Memphis needing to finish inside the top 50 in the standings to reach the BMW Championship.

The top 30 players after the BMW Championship will qualify for the Tour Championship, where the starting scores are determined by FedEx Cup positions.

Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy start in the top-three positions in the FedEx Cup standings. Their positions will not come under threat this week, but plenty of movement is expected at the bottom.

FedEx Cup Standings

1. Jon Rahm - 3,320 points

2. Scottie Scheffler - 3,146

3. Rory McIlroy - 2,304

4. Max Homa - 2,128

5. Wyndham Clark - 1,944

6. Brian Harman - 1,827

7. Viktor Hovland - 1,795

8. Keegan Bradley - 1,774

9. Rickie Fowler - 1,732

10. Tony Finau - 1,655

Full standings can be found here on PGATour.com.

The three FedEx Cup events carry more points than any other events on the PGA Tour schedule.

The winner of each of the next three tournaments earns 2,000 FedEx Cup points. Second place earns 1,200 points, third place takes 760 points, fourth place is awarded 540 points and fifth place gets 440 points. The full points distribution can be found here.

Rahm, Scheffler and other golfers in the top 10 should be safe going into the BMW Championship. The only massive change in the top 10 would come from a win by someone in the middle of the pack.

For example, Jordan Spieth, who is 2,221 points back of Rahm in 31st, could vault into the top five with a victory at the FedEx-St. Jude Championship.

Most of the attention in Memphis will be paid to the area around 50th place. Hideki Matsuyama and Davis Riley are among the 20 golfers who start the FedEx Cup on the outside of the top 50.

Nick Hardy currently resides in 50th place with 868 points, which is just four more than Alex Smalley in 51st place. The bubble could be more closely watched than the fight for the lead on Sunday depending on who is involved at the top.

Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick and Cameron Young headline a collection of golfers between 31st and 50th who will try to feel secure about their spots inside the top 30 with strong showings at the FedEx-St. Jude Championship instead of clawing for every position at the BMW Championship.

Large jumps in the standings are possible at the first postseason tournament. Three of the top four finishers at the FedEx-St. Jude Championship in 2022 jumped over 20 spots in the standings. Only one player who entered Memphis in the top 10 in the FedEx Cup finished in the top 10 at last year's event.

The top players began to shine at the BMW Championship. Three of the top four players in the FedEx Cup standings finished in the first four spots at the BMW.

The standings after the BMW determine a staggered scoring start, where the FedEx Cup leader starts at 10-under and the players ranked 26th-30th begin at even par.