How the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs work
Champions Tour

How the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs work

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The Charles Schwab Cup playoffs have been around as a concept since 2016, and the 2023 PGA Tour Champions season will once again come to a conclusion with the series.

However, in 2018, big changes were announced for the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs format. So we wanted to lay out how the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs will work.

PGA Tour Champions Champions regular season qualifiers

As has been the case since the start of the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs, the entire PGA Tour Champions regular season leads to the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs, with each official PGA Tour Champions event paying out to players.

At the end of the regular season at the SAS Championship, the dollars are converted to points (1 dollar equals 1 point) and the top 72 players in the points system qualify for the three-event playoff series.

Charles Schwab Cup playoff events and cuts

Three Charles Schwab Cup playoff events will be played. The Charles Schwab Cup playoff events whittle a field of 72 down to 36 for the final event at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. In the playoffs, the points are increased by a factor of two from the regular season events. Points earned in each of the first two legs of the playoffs are added to a player's regular season tally, with the field for subsequent playoff events determined on the combined points.

  • The Dominion Energy Charity Classic has a field of 72 players, with the top 54 in combined Charles Schwab Cup points from the regular season and the Dominion Energy Charity Classic moving to the next leg.
  • The TimberTech Championship has a field of the top 54 in combined points, with the top 36 in combined points moving on to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Arizona.

New Tour Championship format

Starting in 2018, the Charles Schwab Cup points will not reset for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. The final event of the season will also offer double points, and the winner of the Charles Schwab Cup will be the player with the most combined points at the end of the event.

The Charles Schwab Cup bonus pool is $2.1 million for the top five players, meaning the Charles Schwab Cup champion earns $1 million.

The full 36-player field in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship are fully exempt for the next PGA Tour Champions season.

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is the founder, owner and operator of Golf News Net.

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