The PGA Tour has announced some changes to the way FedEx Cup points and prize money will be dished out this season - including some good news for Brooks Koepka.
The adjustments are aimed at taking some of the focus off performances during the FedEx Cup Play-Offs and giving more rewards for consistent play throughout the season.
Firstly the points, and starting this season the winners of both the FedEx St. Jude Championship and BMW Championship will now receive just 750 FedEx Cup points and not the usual 2,000.
It's a huge drop but brings those events into line with the other top events such as Major championships and The Players Championship.
Hidden in the small print though is another tweak that could have huge ramifications for Koepka, and seems to be a loophole that now allows him to win FedEx Cup fortunes he had been excluded from under the terms of his return.
It's billed as just an administrative change in how the prize money for the Tour Championship is labelled, but after Koepka was excluded from winning FedEx Cup bonus money it's a way the PGA Tour have moved the goalposts to allow him the chance to scoop $10m after all.
And that's because the $40m prize fund at East Lake has now been reclassified as Official Money on the PGA Tour and not the FedEx Cup Bonus Money.
As par of the conditions of Koepka coming back under the Returning Member Program, he is unable to benefit from any winnings from the FedEx Cup bonus prize pot.
However, with the change to make it Official Money up for grabs it now means that if Koepka qualifies for the season-ending event he is eligible to pocket some of the $40m prize fund - including the whopping $10m bonus for winning at East Lake.
Opinion is already divided among PGA Tour members on whether Koepka should've been allowed back and if the sanctions placed upon him were tough enough.
Seeing the rules now changed to seemingly to help him qualify for FedEx Cup money he was originally barred from winning is sure to attract even more strong opinions.
What do you think? Should Koepka be allowed to win the Tour Championship $10m? Let us know by joining the conversation below...
On another financial front, the FedEx Cup Bonus Money of around $100m will now go to the top 125 players in the standings instead of the top 150 - with the cash earmarked for the botton 25 players now being distrubuted further down the golfing ladder.
The PGA Tour website said the changes have been made: "in order to give a more complete representation of a player’s performance across a full season."
Removing starting strokes from the Tour Championship gave everyine who made the final field of 30 a chance of winning at East Lake, and now the Tour wants to make it tougher to qualify.
That means there's now more emphasis on playing well across the season, without a bumper bounty of points and prize money available just for peaking in the play-offs.
"The adjustment in points is designed to reward consistent performance throughout the season while further positioning the Tour Championship as the hardest tournament for which to qualify," said the PGA Tour website.
