The first of the PGA Tour season’s FedEx Cup Playoff events comes from TPC Southwind with the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
There, the top 70 players in the season-long FedEx Cup standings compete for the chance to reach the second of the Playoffs, the BMW Championships, with 20 players eliminated after the first event based on the updated standings.
There is plenty to play for those who have made it to the first stage, with a $20m payout on offer this week, and $3.6m to the winner.
By design, the format means that many of the world’s best players are in the field for the opening event of the Playoffs, including World No.1 Scottie Scheffler. The American is enjoying the most successful year of his career to date including wins at The Masters and, most recently, the men’s Olympics golf tournament among five other victories.
Another player in the form of his career is Xander Schauffele, who didn’t miss a cut in the regular season and claimed two Major titles, the PGA Championship and The Open.
Rory McIlroy is another big name competing as he looks for a solid start to his quest for a fourth FedEx Cup title in eight years. McIlroy heads into this week’s tournament on the back of a T5 at the Olympics, while, among other highlights in 2024 are victories at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Wells Fargo Championship.
Five other members of the world’s top 10 are also in the field – Ludvig Aberg, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, who won the FedEx Cup in 2023, and Patrick Cantlay, who lifted the FedEx Cup trophy three years ago.
Other former FedEx Cup winners who have made it to the first of the Playoffs are 2018 champion Justin Rose, Justin Thomas, who won in 2017, Jordan Spieth, who lifted the trophy at East Lake Golf Club in 2015 and 2014 victor Billy Horschel.
The winner of the FedEx St. Jude Championship in 2022, Will Zalatoris, is also competing in the no-cut event along with the winner of the Wyndham Championship, Aaron Rai.
Below is the complete field for the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
FedEx St. Jude Championship Field
- Åberg, Ludvig
- An, Byeong Hun
- Bezuidenhout, Christiaan
- Bhatia, Akshay
- Bradley, Keegan
- Burns, Sam
- Cantlay, Patrick
- Clark, Wyndham
- Cole, Eric
- Conners, Corey
- Davis, Cam
- Day, Jason
- Detry, Thomas
- Dunlap, Nick
- Eckroat, Austin
- English, Harris
- Finau, Tony
- Fitzpatrick, Matt
- Fleetwood, Tommy
- Greyserman, Max
- Griffin, Ben
- Grillo, Emiliano
- Hadwin, Adam
- Harman, Brian
- Henley, Russell
- Hoge, Tom
- Homa, Max
- Horschel, Billy
- Hovland, Viktor
- Hubbard, Mark
- Hughes, Mackenzie
- Im, Sungjae
- Jaeger, Stephan
- Kim, Si Woo
- Kim, Tom
- Kirk, Chris
- Knapp, Jake
- Lee, Min Woo
- Lowry, Shane
- MacIntyre, Robert
- Malnati, Peter
- Matsuyama, Hideki
- McCarthy, Denny
- McIlroy, Rory
- McNealy, Maverick
- Moore, Taylor
- Morikawa, Collin
- Noren, Alex
- Pavon, Matthieu
- Pendrith, Taylor
- Perez, Victor
- Poston, J.T.
- Power, Seamus
- Rai, Aaron
- Rodgers, Patrick
- Rose, Justin
- Schauffele, Xander
- Scheffler, Scottie
- Scott, Adam
- Spieth, Jordan
- Straka, Sepp
- Taylor, Nick
- Theegala, Sahith
- Thomas, Justin
- Thompson, Davis
- Todd, Brendon
- Van Rooyen, Erik
- Vegas, Jhonattan
- Young, Cameron
- Zalatoris, Will
Big Names Missing The FedEx Cup Playoffs
While the first of the FedEx Cup Playoffs has a predictably strong field, there are plenty of big names who have failed to reach the first stage.
One is the winner of the 2023 event at TPC Southwind, Lucas Glover, while another is Rickie Fowler, who has just become a father to his second daughter, Nellie, and therefore opted not to try and qualify via his last opportunity, the Wyndham Championship.
The winner of the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational, Kurt Kitayama, also didn’t do enough to qualify, and it was a similar story for the likes of Francesco Molinari and Matt Kuchar, whose 17-year streak in the FedEx Cup Playoffs has come to an end.
Here are some of the biggest names to miss out on the Playoffs.
- Rickie Fowler
- Kurt Kitayama
- Lucas Glover
- Nicolai Hojgaard
- Charley Hoffman
- Matt Kuchar
- Matt Wallace
- Webb Simpson
- Cameron Champ
- Francesco Molinari
