Following a 91-day hiatus from PGA TOUR competition that included the cancellation of 11 tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TOUR returns this week – June 11-14 – in Ft. Worth, Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. The Return to Golf will include 13 tournaments that will decide which 30 players will advance to the TOUR Championship on Labor Day weekend from Sept. 3-7 at East Lake Golf Club, where the 2020 FedExCup champion will be crowned.
The 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season will conclude with a total of 36 official events, including the FedExCup Playoffs, which is nearly three-fourths of the originally planned 49-tournament schedule. With limited opportunities to improve FedExCup standings position prior to the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, players are eager to return to competition as is evidenced by the strength of this week’s field that boasts the top five players in the FedExCup standings (Im, McIlroy, Thomas, Todd, Simpson) as well as the top five in the Official World Golf Ranking (McIlroy, Rahm, Koepka, Thomas, D. Johnson).
McIlroy, the defending FedExCup champion, has already committed to competing in the first three events of the PGA TOUR’s Return to Golf, which include this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, the RBC Heritage (June 18-21) and Travelers Championship (June 25-28).
Currently No. 2 in the FedExCup standings, McIlroy has finished inside the top five in each of his six starts during the 2019-20 season, including his 18th career PGA TOUR victory at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in November.
Reigning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im leads the FedExCup standings after the 22-year-old Korean collected his maiden PGA TOUR title at The Honda Classic in March. Im was the only rookie to qualify for the 2019 TOUR Championship following a season highlighted by seven top-10s in 35 starts.
2017 FedExCup champion Justin Thomas sits No. 3 as one of two players with multiple wins during the 2019-20 season. Thomas collected THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in October and added the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. Thomas is joined by former University of Georgia standout Brendon Todd (No. 4), who notched victories at the Bermuda Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic in late 2019.
Notable:
- FedExCup Playoffs Points have been adjusted to account for the loss of regular-season events. Instead of a 4x multiplier for Playoffs points, the 2019-2020 FedExCup Playoffs will award 3x the points (1500 points for 1st). The Wyndham Rewards Top 10 and the FedExCup Bonus Money will be distributed at the end of the 2019-2020 season.
- Dustin Johnson sits 111th in the FedExCup standings; has not failed to qualify for the TOUR Championship since his rookie season in 2008
- Brooks Koepka, who battled a knee injury toward the end of 2019, is 213th in the FedExCup standings with only five starts during the 2019-20 season (best finish: T43 – The Genesis Invitational)
- With only three starts during the 2019-20 season, Tiger Woods (28th) has not competed on the PGA TOUR since The Genesis Invitational in February; Woods is not in the field at the Charles Schwab Challenge
The current top 30 in the FedExCup standings as the PGA TOUR returns to competition:
Pos. Player Events Points Wins Top-10s Points Behind
1 Sungjae Im 14 1,458 1 5 0
2 Justin Thomas 8 1,403 2 5 55
3 Rory McIlroy 6 1,179 1 6 279
4 Brendon Todd 14 1,110 2 3 348
5 Webb Simpson 5 1,083 1 4 375
6 Patrick Reed 8 1,077 1 4 381
7 Marc Leishman 9 1,059 1 3 399
8 Lanto Griffin 16 1,026 1 3 432
9 Sebastián Muñoz 15 1,006 1 3 452
10 Hideki Matsuyama 11 869 0 4 589
11 Kevin Na 12 827 1 2 631
12 Xander Schauffele 8 804 0 3 654
13 Cameron Smith 10 787 1 2 671
14 Tyrrell Hatton 4 751 1 3 707
15 Cameron Champ 11 727 1 1 731
16 Bryson DeChambeau 7 721 0 4 737
17 Joaquin Niemann 12 704 1 2 754
18 Nick Taylor 12 692 1 2 766
19 Scottie Scheffler 13 691 0 4 767
20 Adam Scott 7 685 1 1 773
21 Jon Rahm 5 657 0 4 801
22 Tom Hoge 13 654 0 3 804
23 Byeong Hun An 13 646 0 5 812
24 Harris English 11 630 0 5 828
25 Abraham Ancer 11 617 0 3 841
26 Carlos Ortiz 13 598 0 3 860
27 Tyler Duncan 15 592 1 1 866
28 Tiger Woods 3 571 1 2 887
29 Patrick Cantlay 5 561 0 2 897
30 Andrew Landry 12 559 1 1 899