Nearly $100 million is on the line for some of the world’s best golfers this week, making the BMW Championship about much more than advancing to the season finale.
When play concludes Sunday at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, each player’s position in the FedEx Cup standings will determine his share of a massive bonus pool. The player who finishes No. 1 will receive $23 million in total compensation, while millions more will be distributed throughout the standings.
That money comes in addition to the BMW Championship’s separate $20 million tournament purse.
One part of the nearly $100 million payout has already been decided. Scottie Scheffler has mathematically secured the No. 1 position and its $23 million prize before the tournament begins.
Scottie Scheffler Has Already Secured $23 Million FedEx Cup Prize
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Scheffler built a lead of more than 1,400 FedEx Cup points over Matt Fitzpatrick after winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship. With only 750 FedEx Cup points available to the winner of the BMW Championship, nobody can catch Scheffler for the top position.
As the No. 1 finisher, Scheffler will receive $22 million in bonus money plus $1 million in deferred money.
It adds to an already lucrative stretch for the world’s No. 1 golfer.
Scheffler earned $10 million for finishing No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings at the conclusion of the PGA Tour regular season. He then collected another $3.4 million for winning at TPC Southwind, the 21st PGA Tour victory of his career.
The rest of the BMW Championship field still has plenty of money at stake.
Second place in the final FedEx Cup standings receives $12 million immediately and $1 million deferred. Third gets $7 million plus $1 million deferred, while fourth receives $5.5 million and another $1 million deferred.
The fifth-place player gets $4.4 million plus $1 million deferred. Even the golfers further down the standings will receive bonus money based on their final positions.
BMW Championship Will Determine Who Advances to Tour Championship
The money isn’t the only major prize at stake at Bellerive.
The top 50 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings qualified for the BMW Championship, but only 30 will move on to the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Every player in the BMW Championship field has already secured a spot in each of the PGA Tour’s Signature Events in 2027. Now, those near the cutoff are focused on extending their season by another week.
Rickie Fowler enters the BMW Championship in the most precarious position at No. 30.
Fowler has reached the Tour Championship seven times during his career, but he will have to hold off several players attempting to move above him this week.
Gary Woodland is directly behind Fowler at No. 31, followed by J.T. Poston at No. 32. Nicolai Højgaard, Alex Noren, Jake Knapp and Robert MacIntyre are also within striking distance.
According to PGA Tour projections, Woodland could maintain a mathematical chance of moving inside the top 30 with a solo 48th-place finish, while Poston needs at least a solo 31st.
Players further down the standings need considerably stronger finishes.
Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay Face High-Stakes BMW Championship
Several of the PGA Tour’s biggest names enter the BMW Championship outside the top 30.
Patrick Cantlay is No. 43 in the FedEx Cup standings, while Justin Thomas sits directly behind him at No. 44.
Both need at least a solo seventh-place finish to have a mathematical chance of moving ahead of Fowler’s current No. 30 position, according to the PGA Tour. That finish would not guarantee either golfer a Tour Championship berth because the final standings also depend on how the rest of the field performs.
Sungjae Im faces another significant challenge.
Im was the only player to jump inside the top-50 bubble during the FedEx St. Jude Championship, climbing 13 positions to No. 40.
He has reached the Tour Championship in each of his seven PGA Tour seasons, but keeping that streak alive will require another big move. Im needs at least a solo eighth-place finish to maintain a mathematical chance of cracking the top 30.
Players near the bottom face even longer odds. Ryo Hisatsune and Sahith Theegala need at least a three-way tie for second to potentially advance, while Michael Brennan, Eric Cole and Maverick McNealy need at least a two-way tie for second. Matt McCarty, who enters at No. 50, needs a solo second-place finish to have a chance.
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