The 2025 FedEx Cup champion will receive just $10 million, down $15 million from the previous $25 million, according to the new announcement. The remaining money will be distributed to golfers who achieve high results throughout the regular season and playoffs.

The change in the prize structure comes shortly after the PGA Tour announced it would eliminate the starting strokes at the Tour Championship, which previously allowed the top FedEx Cup player to start with a minus-10 advantage. Beginning in 2025, all 30 players in the Tour Championship will start at even par, creating a more fair and direct race.

The most notable new feature of this system is that it rewards performance throughout the season, not just based on the results of the last four rounds of the Tour Championship. The golfer who leads the FedEx Cup standings after the regular season will now be guaranteed $10 million, regardless of how they perform in the subsequent playoffs.

This is in line with an earlier proposal by Scottie Scheffler, who has expressed the view that the FedEx Cup system should strike a balance between honoring season-long achievements and the opportunity to compete in final tournaments.

“I think there’s a balance between highlighting the last two events of the season and rewarding the whole year,” Scheffler said. “You can’t win the FedEx Cup without a good regular season. But you also need to have a chance to shine in the playoffs.”

With the new structure, a golfer can earn $15 million before the Tour Championship even begins if he leads the FedEx Cup standings behind Wyndham and BMW. And even if he doesn’t win at East Lake, he’s still had a financially successful season. Conversely, a golfer who has a late-season surge still has a chance to come back and win the biggest title of the year.