Bob MacIntyre has big money and big incentives on line in Memphis at $100m event

Having comfortably finished inside the top 70 - he’s 15th in the standings - at the end of the regular season, MacIntyre is teeing up in the $20 million FedEx St Jude Championship, which gets underway at TPC Southwind in Memphis on Thursday.

The newly-turned 29-year-old, who tied for seventh behind Hideki Matsuyama last year, is also guaranteed a spot in the 50-man field for next week’s BMW Championship, which carries a £20m prize pot as well, at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland.

The first two Play-Off events will award 2,000 FedExCup points to the winner as players vie to make the top 30 and qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta towards the end of the month and it already looks as though it is mission accomplished for MacIntyre, who made his debut in the season finale last year.

One of the left-hander’s goals over the next three weeks will be to better his joint-17th finish in last year’s standings and he will take confidence from the fact he has already teed up another big season in 2026, helped by his top-ten finishes in both the US Open and The Open.

The top 50 players in the FedEx Cup are exempt for all the Signature Events on the US circuit while the top 30 players receive a two-year exemption and invitations to majors that traditionally recognise the top 30.

$100m bonus money is up for grabs

Open and PGA champion Scottie Scheffler enters the FedExCup Play-Offs with a 1,362-point lead over Rory Mcllroy, with Sepp Straka just under 1,000 points further back in third place.

The FedExCup bonus distribution total is $100 million, with the FedExCup champion - Scheffler is bidding to top the list for a second year in a row - earning $10 million.

Meanwhile, players needing a good week in Memphis in the battle to make it to the BMW Championship include 2020 Genesis Scottish Open champion Aaron Rai, who currently sits 55th on the points list, as well as 60th-ranked Tony Finau.