Not for the first time, Cameron Smith is among the favorites heading into the opening weekend of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Yet, the circumstances have changed significantly 12 months after going into the FedEx Cup in third place on the rankings.
Now a major winner, and having taken home The Players Championship too, Smith is the hottest player in world golf and the world No.2. But his pending defection to the LIV Golf Series has seen his name dragged through mud in recent weeks.
Nevertheless, even with Smith likely sitting on a $AU140m LIV joining fee, massive riches potentially lie in wait for the Australian, who has put himself in a great position for a shot at the biggest individual financial prize in world sport.
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FED-EX CUP PLAYOFFS — HOW IT WORKS
Golfers play for FedEx Cup points throughout the season, with the top 125 players qualifying for the end-of-season playoffs.
This week’s St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, is the first event of the playoffs.
From there, the top 70 in the updated FedEx Cup standings will get a start at the BMW Championship.
Only the top 30 in the standings after that event will qualify for the final event of the season, the Tour Championship — where the winner takes the $US18 million ($A25m) FedEx Cup first prize.
The tournament uses a handicap system with FedEx Cup points standings determining what score golfers start on — with those towards the top getting a huge headstart on those who only just qualify.
Tour Championship handicap system based on FedEx Cup points
1-seed: (10 under)
2-seed: (8 under)
3-seed: (7 under)
4-seed: (6 under)
5-seed: (5 under)
Seeds 6-10: (4 under)
Seeds 11-15: (3 under)
Seeds 16-20: (2 under)
Seeds 21-25: (1 under)
Seeds 26-30: (pair)
THE STANDINGS (top 10)
1: Scottie Scheffler (3,556)
2: Cam Smith (2,335)
3: Sam Burns (2,275)
4: Xander Schauffele (2,153)
5: Patrick Cantlay (2,108)
6: Rory McIlroy (2,104)
7: Tony Finau (1,912)
8: Justin Thomas (1,783)
9: Cameron Young (1,774)
10: Sungjae Im (1,488)
PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
FedEx St. Jude Championship
Dates: Aug. 11-14
Course: TPC Southwind, Memphis
BMW Championship
Dates: Aug. 18-21
Course: Wilmington, Del. Wilmington Country Club, Olympia Fields, Ill.
Tour Championship
Dates: Aug 25-28
Course: East Lake Golf Course, Atlanta
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