After announcing in May that it will scrap its starting-strokes system in the Tour Championship to determine its FedEx Cup champion, the PGA Tour will alter how it divvies up the $100 million bonus pool to reward season-long leaders.
According to the FedEx Cup overview on the tour’s website, the FedEx Cup bonus money will be paid out in three installments based on standings at the end of the regular season, the second of three playoff events and the playoff finale at East Lake Golf Club, with the Tour Championship winner pocketing $10 million instead of the record $25 million Scottie Scheffler received in 2024.
The top 10 in the points standings at the conclusion of the regular-season ending Wyndham Championship will split $20 million, with the leader pocketing another $10 million. The top 30 after the BMW Championship will split roughly $23 million, with the top-ranked player heading to East Lake getting another $5 million. The remaining $57 million will be doled out after the Tour Championship with $40 million in the unofficial-money tournament purse and the remaining $17 million in deferrals split among players ranked 31-150.
The $40 million Comcast Business Top 10 pool also still exists, with the top 10 players at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship splitting another bonus pile of cash that gives $10 million to the leader down to $2 million for 10th place in the season-long points race.
All told, if Scheffler were to sweep the top rung all the way through winning the Tour Championship, he’d still collect the same $35 million in combined bonuses that he won last season. READ MORE
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Open final qualifiers include three LIV veterans
Twenty spots were available on Tuesday at four venues for Final Qualifying into the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush, and three of 14 LIV golfers who entered made it through.
England’s Lee Westwood, South Africa’s Dean Burmester and Australia’s Lucas Herbert all earned medalist honors in their respective final qualifying sites, giving LIV Golf 19 players in the field at Royal Portrush July 17-20.
Westwood shot 7-under (70-67) at Dundonald Links to qualify for his 28th Open. “Royal Portrush is a fantastic golf course, and I played well there last time – I finished fourth in 2019,” Westwood said.
Herbert booked his fifth Open start, setting the pace on 8-under (69-67) at West Lancashire, while Burmester ran away to finish four clear of the field at Royal Cinque Ports at 10-under (70-64). Burmester finished T11 and T19 in two of his three previous Open starts.
In all, 20 players earned places at Portrush via final qualifying, including amateurs Connor Graham, Frazer Jones, Sebastian Cave and Richard Teder, a 20-year-old Estonian golfer who becomes the first from his nation to qualify for a major championship.
“It means everything [to qualify],” Teder said. “It means the world to me. I just can’t wait to get back home and celebrate and just get ready for the Open. I don’t think it has kicked in yet. I’m playing in the Open with all the best players in the world, and I like to think I belong there, so it’ll be fun.” READ MORE
In a leaked early draft of LIV Golf’s prospective 2026 schedule Sports Business Journal reported on, the breakaway circuit will play nine of 14 events internationally and won’t compete in the United States until after the Masters.
SBJ viewed a 2026 schedule draft that LIV shared with league personnel and team general managers last week during meetings in Dallas, which a source said was “100 percent” right on the locations but could have some dates tweaked.
The schedule shows LIV playing its first six events internationally and not playing in the U.S. until a DC/Virginia event in May, the week before the PGA Championship at Aronimink in New Jersey. In the previous three seasons, LIV has played the week ahead of the Masters in Florida, the last two years at Doral.
In 2026, LIV is slated to have an open week before Augusta and play the week after in Mexico City.
Host locations include: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Adelaide, Australia; Hong Kong; Singapore; South Africa (new); Mexico City; DC/Virginia; South Korea; Spain; New Orleans (new); United Kingdom; Chicago; Indianapolis; and Michigan.
The final two domestic events are currently scheduled to be played in consecutive weeks in late August in direct competition with the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoff finale. READ MORE
Alexandra Armas, CEO of the Ladies European Tour, will step down from her post Oct. 1, the LET announced on Monday. Armas has led the European women’s tour since 2020 and oversaw an increase in tournaments and doubling of purses.
“It has been an honor to serve as CEO of the Ladies European Tour and to contribute to the advancement of women’s golf,” Armas – who also served as LET CEO from 2005-12 – said in a release. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together – from expanding the schedule and prize funds to building a stronger, more sustainable future through international collaboration. I want to thank the players, partners, board members, and the exceptional team at the LET for their support, passion, and commitment.”
In her first stint at the LET helm, Armas, a former Wake Forest and LET golfer from Spain, established the developmental Access Tour. The second time around, Armas fostered the joint venture with the LPGA Tour to develop a more unified approach in the women’s professional game.
The LET board has retained Elevate Talent to aid its search for a new CEO, the same firm that led the search for the LPGA’s new commissioner, Craig Kessler. READ MORE
TAP-INS
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley has named former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland as his fifth and final vice captain for this year’s match at Bethpage Black. Woodland joins Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker as vice captains for the Americans. READ MORE
Five players not otherwise exempt from the top 20 in the Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour after the BMW International Open in Germany earned spots into the Open Championship – Kristoffer Reitan (Norway), John Parry (England), Haotong Li (China), Daniel Hillier (New Zealand) and Shaun Norris (South Africa) . Three more spots will be available in thIs week’s Genesis Scottish Open, the final event on the Open Qualifying Series. The final six spots will come from a reserve list based on the Official World Golf Ranking published today. Rocket Classic winner Aldrich Potgieter is No. 49, making him the highest-ranked player not already in The Open. John Deere winner Brian Campbell is projected to climb into position, followed by Nico Echavarria, Michael Kim, Bud Cauley and Davis Thompson. READ MORE
LPGA U? Building on its LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway (LEAP) program started in 2025, the women’s professional tour launched the LPGA Collegiate Advancement Pathway (LCAP) to create a direct route for top collegiate golfers to enter the LPGA’s system of professional tours. The top 10 eligible players enrolled in LCAP will earn Epson Tour membership based on their end-of-season rankings through the program. READ MORE
Compiled by Scott Michaux