In the final round of the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship, Hideki Matsuyama played the last six holes in 5 under at TPC Southwind to shoot 65 and finish T-16.
For a past champion of the Masters, it won’t go down as one of his best weeks but it’s a round he’ll remember for another reason. The 32-year-old Japanese star has gained a reputation for hanging his head, dropping a hand off his club or drop-kicking the club in disgust – only for the shot in question to be a thing of beauty. But for Tom Alter, the PGA Tour official charged with informing Matsuyama of the good news that he had done enough to shoot up to No. 47 in the FedEx Cup points standings and qualify for the BMW Championship, there was no mistaking Matsuyama’s reaction.
“It was the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on his face,” Alter recalled. “It really resonated with me.”
Had Matsuyama not finished with a flurry at TPC Southwind a year ago, he may not have been in the field at the Genesis Invitational, one of eight signature events, in February, where he shot a final-round 62 to claim his ninth Tour title.
The reason for Matsuyama’s glee is the goal this week for the 70-man field at the Tour’s first of three playoff events: making the top 50 and qualifying for the BMW Championship means being exempt into all of the signature events during the 2025 season. Given that those events have limited fields, play for significantly more money and elevated FedEx Cup points and often have no cuts, they offer a huge head start on retaining playing privileges for the following season and remaining in the top 50.
“Fifty is like the new 30,” said Mackenzie Hughes, who finished 51st last season but ended up getting into the signature events this season when Jon Rahm departed for LIV Golf. “Outside of East Lake, that’s the number in the back of your mind. It’s that important and everyone knows it.”
But when Kevin Kisner was asked if 50 is the new 30 on Tour, he was taken aback. “Hell, no, the average age these days is about 25,” Kisner claimed. But when informed this wasn’t a reference to age but to position in the FedEx Cup list, he quickly understood. “Get in the top 50 and you’re set for your schedule all year, you’re gonna play for a pile of money, and you’ve got all the chances in the world,” he said.
Tweaks are bound to be made to this latest iteration of the Tour’s reimagined schedule which already has evolved its nomenclature for its biggest…
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