7 Perks Of Winning The Tour Championship In 2026
Winning the Tour Championship is one career highlight for anyone who achieves it, but what are the perks?
The Tour Championship is no ordinary PGA Tour event thanks to its status as the FedExCup Playoffs finale.
Because of that, claiming victory at East Lake brings considerably more perks than the ones generally available for winning a PGA Tour event.
Some of them are well known, such as huge prize money and world rankings points, but others have a tendency to slip under the radar.
Here are seven big perks of winning the Tour Championship.
Prize Money
The headline perk of winning the Tour Championship is, of course, the prize money.
Until 2025, the money earned for victory came directly from the FedExCup bonus pool, but now it counts as official money, meaning it goes towards the winner's PGA Tour career earnings.
In any case, that detail is not likely to matter much to the winner. The bottom line is that, whoever wins the 2026 Tour Championship will bank $10m, more than double the $4.5m handed to Cameron Young for winning the PGA Tour’s flagship event, The Players Championship.
FedExCup Title
Winning the FedExCup is one of the biggest achievements in golf
After the Starting Scores format that previously accompanied the Tour Championship was abandoned after 2024, there is now a far more clear cut perk of winning the event.
Whoever does it also becomes the FedExCup winner meaning he's recognized as the PGA Tour’s season-long champion.
In its 19 previous editions, there have been just two multiple FedExCup winners - Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy - while there have been 16 different winners in total.
McIlroy has also likened the achievement to winning one of the very biggest events in golf, saying in 2022: "I think winning a FedExCup is right alongside winning a Major championship."
PGA Tour Status
A five-year PGA Tour exemption awaits the winner
Typically, winning a PGA Tour event brings a two or three-year exemption, depending on its prestige, but the winner of the Tour Championship secures his place on the circuit for the next five years.
That’s the same length given to Major winners, although it’s not quite all it seems.
That’s because even reaching the Tour Championship guarantees a two-year exemption through 2028, so in effect, claiming victory adds another three years to that total.
And the reason winning this year or next to become exempt through 2031/32 is even more important is because of the upcoming changes to the PGA Tour, which are due to be introduced from 2028.
World Ranking Points
The winner also walks away with 45 world ranking points. That’s actually fewer than many other big PGA Tour events, including the previous two Playoffs and the Signature Events. The reason? The smaller field produces a lower OWGR field rating.
Still, 45 points is a welcome perk and about 20 more than Joe Dean - the DP World Tour's Husqvarna British Masters - won earlier on Sunday.
PGA Championship Exemption
The winner books his place at the PGA Championship
Reaching the Tour Championship gives the players in the field guaranteed starts at three of the following year’s four Majors, The Masters, the US Open and The Open.
However, it doesn’t include the PGA Championship. Even though all of the Tour Championship field would be confident of their place anyway, winning the Tour Championship removes any doubt as a result of becoming the FedExCup champion.
FedExCup Trophy
The winner has his name engraved on the FedExCup trophy, and receives a replica to keep
After winning the Tour Championship, the new FedExCup champion is presented with the famous sterling silver spun cup trophy.
While the winner doesn’t get to keep it, his name is engraved on it, and he is given a keeper trophy to take home.
That has a height of 13.25 inches and is engraved with just the name of that year’s winner.
Bobby Jones-Inspired Replica
The winner gets a replica of Bobby Jones's Calamity Jane putter
East Lake was the home course of one of the game’s all-time greats, Bobby Jones.
He is commemorated in the form of the trophy handed to the winner of the Tour Championship, which he gets to keep – a replica of his famous Calamity Jane putter that he used when completing the Grand Slam in 1930.
