At the TOUR Championship, the player with the lowest stroke total over 72 holes when combined with his FedExCup Starting Strokes will be crowned the FedExCup champion, be credited with an official victory at the TOUR Championship, earn a bonus of $18 million and a five-year PGA TOUR exemption.

The FedEx Cup is the championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction in 2007 marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Since its inception, the competition has been sponsored by FedEx. The FedEx Cup is a season long competition.

The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings after the regular season (Wyndham Championship) qualify for the playoffs and the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. There is no cut and players are not required to play.

The Tour Championship, which is held at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, is a no-cut event with a field of just 30 players. But the real kicker is that each player in the field is assigned a starting score before Round 1 based on their place in the FedEx Cup Standings before Round 1 on Thursday.

The FedExCup Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship, features FedExCup Starting Strokes, a staggered, strokes-based system that represents the final FedExCup standings, recognizing players for their Regular Season performance as well as their play in the first two FedExCup Playoffs events.

Beginning in 2009, the assignment and awarding of points assured that if any of the top five FedEx Cup point leaders entering The Tour Championship won the event, that player would also won the FedEx Cup.

Here's the starting positions, format and bonus payout for the season-ending Tour Championship, the final leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

The FedExCup Playoffs feature a progressive cut. The first event has a field of 70, the second has a field of 50 and the final one has 30. The 30 golfers that reach the final event – the Tour Championship – compete with starting strokes based on seeding.

From 1998 to 2018, the Tour Championship winner, if not already exempt by other means, received a 3-year PGA Tour exemption. Since 2019, the Tour Championship winner has been directly awarded the FedEx Cup and a 5-year PGA Tour exemption.

The FedExCup points leader after the first two Playoffs events will begin the TOUR Championship at 10-under par. The next four players will start at 8-under through 5-under, respectively. The next five will begin at 4-under, regressing by one stroke per five players until those ranked Nos.

The majority of professional and competitive golf tournaments often fall under the stroke play format, which involves counting the total number of strokes taken on each hole and totalling them up at the end of the round. The winner would be the player who completed the round (or rounds) in the lowest number of strokes.

TOUR members earn FedExCup points based on their finish at each tournament, with an emphasis placed on wins and high finishes. The top 70 players in the FedExCup standings are eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs with the three events featuring a progressive cut with fields of 70, 50 and 30 players.