PGA Tour players grapple with increasing pressure as the FedEx Cup playoff rules are changed       

With the revamped FedEx playoffs, PGA Tour players have been feeling pressure to qualify for the event. The field of the tournament has been cut short to 70, unlike 125 players last year.

The top 70 players who are inside the FedEx Points standing will earn an opportunity to compete in three FedEx Playoffs which will take place in August following the conclusion of the 2022-23 regular season after the 2023 Wyndham Championship.

Players are under pressure to finish first at this week's John Deere Classic and move into the top 70 in the FedEx Standings.

JT Poston said about the FedEx Playoffs' new eligibility criteria:

“It’s just that time of year where guys are trying to push and push and push because there aren’t as many tournaments left. Every playoff event that you make it through and on to the next is going to be a huge bonus, whether it’s going from Memphis to BMW or BMW to Atlanta.”

The playoffs feature a star-studded field of 70 golfers at the FedEx St.Jude Championship, 50 for the BMW Championship, and 30 for the Tour Championship.

The last event will determine the winner and if an eligible player withdrew from the tournament, there will be no alternative instead the field will be shortened.

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FedEx Points standings

Jon Rahm has taken the lead in the FedEx Cup standings after winning four PGA Tour events, including the Masters in 2023. He is followed by Scottie Scheffler.

Max Homa, the Farmers Insurance Open winner in 2023, ranked third, followed by Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley. Rory McIlroy, the current World No. 3, settled at seventh, followed by Rickie Fowler.

Here are the current FedEx Points standings:

1 Jon Rahm

2 Scottie Scheffler

3 Max Homa

4 Wyndham Clark

5 Keegan Bradley

6 Viktor Hovland

7 Rory McIlroy

8 Rickie Fowler

9 Tony Finau

10 Nick Taylor

11 Patrick Cantlay

12 Si Woo Kim

13 Xander Schauffele

14 Jason Day

15 Tyrrell Hatton

16 Collin Morikawa

17 Sam Burns

18 Kurt Kitayama

19 Brian Harman

20 Taylor Moore

21 Tom Kim

22 Chris Kirk

23 Emiliano Grillo

24 Denny McCarthy

25 Justin Rose

26 Adam Schenk

27 Seamus Power

28 Sahith Theegala

29 Jordan Spieth

30 Corey Conners

31 Matt Fitzpatrick

32 Russell Henley

33 Tommy Fleetwood

34 Sungjae Im

35 Adam Hadwin

36 Harris English

37 Adam Svensson

38 Andrew Putnam

39 Mackenzie Hughes

40 Eric Cole

41 Taylor Montgomery

42 Tom Hoge

43 Hayden Buckley

42 Brandon Wu

45 Davis Riley

46 Nick Hardy

47 Thomas Detry

48 Patrick Rodgers

49 Cameron Young

50 Sepp Straka

51 Matt Kuchar

52 Hideki Matsuyama

53 Brendon Todd

54 Aaron Rai

55 Alex Smalley

56 Byeong Hun Anx

57 Matthew NeSmith

58 Sam Stevens

59 Austin Eckroat

60 Ben Taylor

61 Mark Hubbard

62 Keith Mitchell

63 Sam Ryder

64 J.J. Spaun

65 K.H. Lee

66 Ben Griffin

67 Stephan Jaeger

68 Justin Thomas

69 Davis Thompson

70 Cameron Davis