Inside the FedExCup: What will it take to win?

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Aug. 20, 2008
By Steve Dennis, PGA TOUR Staff

Based on our simulations of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, it looks like it will take about 122,500 points to win the trophy. Obviously, that's going to depend on a lot of things, and is going to vary -- perhaps significantly -- from year to year. But if we assume that 122,500 is the magic number, how can your favorite player get to that number, depending on where he is in the standings going into the Playoffs?

The first thing that should be clear is that no matter where a player starts in the standings, it's going to take a great Playoff run to win the FedExCup. Kenny Perry, the No. 2 seed, starts with 99,500 points, so he needs 23,000 more, meaning even Perry is likely to need a victory and two other top-five finishes to get there. Plus he needs to earn points every week. That's a pretty good four-event stretch, and that's for the leader going in.

At a minimum, then, anyone who wishes to win needs a first, a third and two other solid finishes. Assuming they get the first and third in the first two events, here is what various players would need in the next two, in order to get to 122,500:

Player Current rank What they would need in final two events Event 1 Event 2 Event 3 Event 4 Potential points
Geoff Ogilvy 10th another top 5 and another top 10 1st 3rd 5th 7th 122,575
Stephen Ames 30th 2nd and another top 25 1st 3rd 2nd 25th 122,655
Dean Wilson 70th 2nd and another top 10 1st 3rd 2nd 10th 122,530
Lee Janzen 144th 2nd and a two-way tie for 2nd 1st 3rd 2nd T2 122,570
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