Let’s be honest. Following the PGA Tour's postseason can feel like trying to solve a calculus equation while riding a roller coaster. You’ve got points being reset, "starting strokes" that give some guys a massive head start, and millions of dollars flying around like confetti. But at the end of the day, the list FedEx Cup winners is the only thing that history really cares about. Since 2007, this trophy has become the definitive marker of who actually owned the season. It isn't just about winning a single tournament in April or June; it’s about surviving a month-long gauntlet when everyone else is exhausted.
Tiger Woods. Rory McIlroy. Scottie Scheffler. The names at the top are exactly who you’d expect, but the path they took to get there is usually weirder than people remember.
The Early Days: When Tiger Ruled the Earth
When the FedEx Cup launched in 2007, nobody really knew what it was. Players were confused. Fans were skeptical. But Tiger Woods did what Tiger Woods does—he simplified everything by winning. He didn't just win; he absolutely dismantled the field. He won the Tour Championship by eight shots. Eight! That first year set the tone. It proved that the playoffs weren't just a gimmick; they were a way to crown the best player in the world with a massive pile of cash.
Then came 2008. Vijay Singh basically broke the system. He won the first two playoff events, the Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship, and effectively locked up the cup before the final tournament even started. He could have played the Tour Championship with a shovel and still won the $10 million. The Tour hated that. They wanted drama. They wanted a Sunday afternoon where ten different guys had a mathematical chance to get rich. So, they started tweaking the points.
In 2009, Tiger came back and won it again. He's still the only person to win the cup back when it was a total points-chase nightmare. Watching Tiger navigate those early years was like watching a grandmaster play speed chess. Everyone else was worrying about the math, and he was just hitting stingers.
The "Who Is That?" Years and the Rory Era
If you look at the list FedEx Cup winners between 2010 and 2014, you see a shift. It wasn't always the superstar. Jim Furyk won it in 2010 in a literal monsoon at East Lake. He had his hat on backward, grinding out pars in the rain. It was gritty. It was boring. It was perfect. Then you had Bill Haas in 2011, who hit a shot out of a lake—water splashing everywhere, ball checking up on the green—to save his life and win the whole thing. That’s the magic of the playoffs. It turns "steady" players into legends for a weekend.
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Then Rory McIlroy decided he wanted to own this trophy.
Rory is the only three-time winner. 2016, 2019, 2022. Each one was different. In 2016, he needed a ridiculous hole-out eagle and a playoff to hunt down Ryan Moore. By 2019, the Tour had changed the rules again. They introduced the "Starting Strokes" format.
Essentially, the guy who enters the finale in first place starts at 10-under par. The guy in 30th starts at even. People hated it at first. "It’s not a real tournament!" they shouted. But Rory didn't care. In 2019, he started five shots back of Justin Thomas and still hunted him down. He did it again in 2022, coming from six back against Scottie Scheffler. Rory basically proved that even with a head start, you aren't safe if a Hall of Famer decides to get hot.
The Chronological Breakdown of Champions
To see how the momentum shifted from the "old guard" to the modern bombers, you have to look at the names year by year. It’s a fascinating mix of guys who were the best for a decade and guys who were the best for exactly three weeks.
- 2007: Tiger Woods (The dominant start)
- 2008: Vijay Singh (The man who forced a rule change)
- 2009: Tiger Woods (The only two-time winner for a long time)
- 2010: Jim Furyk (The ultimate grinder)
- 2011: Bill Haas (The "splash" heard 'round the world)
- 2012: Brandt Snedeker (The hottest putter in history)
- 2013: Henrik Stenson (The "Ice Man" era)
- 2014: Billy Horschel (The guy who got hot at the perfect moment)
- 2015: Jordan Spieth (The Golden Child's peak)
- 2016: Rory McIlroy (The first of three)
- 2017: Justin Thomas (The consistency king)
- 2018: Justin Rose (The steady veteran)
- 2019: Rory McIlroy (The first year of the new "Starting Strokes" format)
- 2020: Dustin Johnson (Finally getting his due)
- 2021: Patrick Cantlay (Ice in his veins against Bryson)
- 2022: Rory McIlroy (The historic third title)
- 2023: Viktor Hovland (The Norwegian sensation)
- 2024: Scottie Scheffler (The most dominant season since Tiger)
The Scottie Scheffler Problem
For a couple of years, people were starting to wonder if the FedEx Cup was "fair." Scottie Scheffler would have these seasons where he won five or six times, including the Masters, but then he’d get to East Lake and someone would just have a better weekend and take the cup. In 2023, Viktor Hovland went absolutely nuclear. He was making putts from the parking lot. Scottie just couldn't keep up.
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But 2024 was different. Scheffler entered the Tour Championship with that 10-under lead and actually held it. It sounds easy. It’s not. When you start with a lead, you play "not to lose." That’s a death sentence in golf. Scheffler managed to play aggressively anyway. By the time he hoisted that trophy, he had cemented one of the greatest statistical seasons in the history of the sport.
If you're looking at the list FedEx Cup winners to find a "fluke," you won't find many lately. The format might be weird, but the cream almost always rises.
Why Some Big Names Are Missing
Ever noticed who isn't on this list? Phil Mickelson never won a FedEx Cup. Neither has Brooks Koepka (though he’s gone to LIV now). Jon Rahm didn't get one before he jumped ship either.
The reason is simple: volatility. To win the FedEx Cup, you need your body to hold up through August. It’s hot. The pressure is suffocating. Most players gear their entire lives toward the Majors in April through July. By the time the playoffs roll around, many of the world's best are physically and mentally cooked.
The winners on this list are the ones who figured out how to peak twice. They peaked for the Majors, and then they found a second wind in the humidity of the South. That’s why Billy Horschel’s win in 2014 is so legendary. He wasn't the best player in the world that year, but he went 2nd-1st-1st in the final three events. That is a statistical anomaly that will probably never happen again. He was a flamethrower for 12 days straight.
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The Money: It’s Not Just About the Trophy
We have to talk about the cash. It's impossible not to. When Tiger won in 2007, the bonus was $10 million. In 2024, Scottie Scheffler banked $25 million.
That kind of money changes how the game is played. You’ll see guys on the 18th hole on Sunday who have no chance of winning the tournament, but they are grinding over a four-footer for par like their life depends on it. Why? Because that putt might be the difference between 8th place and 12th place in the FedEx standings. That's a difference of about $1.5 million.
It’s a different kind of pressure. It’s not "Major Championship" pressure, which is about legacy. It’s "Generational Wealth" pressure.
How to Use This Data for Your Own Game
Looking at the list FedEx Cup winners, you see a pattern in how they win. It’s rarely the guy leading the field in driving distance. It’s almost always the guy who is Top 5 in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and avoids the "big miss."
- Don't chase the lead too early. Look at Rory in 2022. He started with a triple bogey on the first hole of the tournament. Most people would have quit. He just kept chipping away. In your own rounds, one bad hole doesn't end the "season."
- Putting is the equalizer. Brandt Snedeker won in 2012 because he literally didn't miss inside ten feet for four days. If you want to win a long-term points race (like your local club championship), your putter has to be the most reliable club in the bag.
- Fitness matters. The playoffs are a grind. The guys who win are usually the ones who look the freshest on the 72nd hole.
The FedEx Cup is still evolving. There are rumors of more format changes, maybe match play, maybe something even crazier. But for now, these winners represent the toughest, most resilient golfers of the modern era. They survived the math, the heat, and the pressure of a $25 million paycheck.
If you want to keep up with the current standings and see who might be the next name added to this list, keep an eye on the "Strokes Gained" leaders throughout the summer. That's usually where the winner is hiding. Take a look at the current PGA Tour schedule and highlight the August dates; that's when the real moves are made. Go watch the highlights of Bill Haas’s water shot from 2011 if you want to see what "playing for the cup" actually looks like. It's messy, it's wet, and it's incredible.