When the contract with FedEx was extended to sponsor the FedExCup, making the fall events part of the series was not discussed until after the contract was signed. The idea of including the fall events came during the discussion of changing the way that PGA TOUR cards were earned via the Nationwide Tour. The PGA TOUR realized that the inclusion of the fall events would be good for everyone. It would be good for the tournament sponsors who would now be a part of the FedExCup and it would be good for Golf Channel as well who would be broadcasting those events.
The restructure of the qualifying system and the restart of the season were the two fundamentals of Tuesday’s announcement but another important part was the establishment of the three event series that will award 50 PGA TOUR cards. There are some details to work out but the PGA TOUR is figuring out ways to make the series have a similar level of excitement as the final stage of PGA TOUR Q-School.
The PGA TOUR has yet to determine whether or not the fall PGA TOUR events will receive half or full FedExCup points. Those events may end up receiving full points. They have yet to discuss these changes with Augusta National Golf Club who currently awards Masters invitations to the winners of PGA TOUR events that award full FedExCup points.
One of the benefits of being on the PGA TOUR is being able to choose your own vacation time. There is flexibility built into the system where players can take time off and not be punished in terms of the FedExCup.
Another detail that the PGA TOUR is working on is how players will be seeded from #1-75 on the Nationwide Tour and #126-200 on the FedExCup Points List. They may decide to start everyone at zero or they may assign seeds based on a season-long performance. They have done research of various scenarios and the PGA TOUR is confident that whatever format is determined will provide a lot of excitement to the fans of the PGA TOUR.
