Global InformationPGA Tour Fall Series information
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The PGA Tour Fall Series was name of the events on the PGA Tour that covered the end of the calendar year from 2007 to 2012 after the Tour Championship. Beginning in 2013, these events became part of the PGA Tour season, which from that point began to overlap two calendar years, beginning with the 2013–14 PGA Tour season.[1]
This series was created in 2007 as part of the reorganization of the entire tour schedule. The new structure included a regular season and the FedEx Cup playoffs, which determine the season champion. This slate of tournaments had the working title "Quest for the Card" before the PGA Tour finalized the name.
The Fall Series began as a group of seven events (eventually reduced to four at the time of the calendar change) that determined who joined the 30 FedEx Cup finalists in receiving full-season exemptions to the following year's tournaments. These were the golfers who did not qualify for the FedEx Cup finals, but finished in the top 125 on the money list at the end of the Fall Series. Golfers finishing outside the top 125 could only enter the following year's tournaments based on other exemptions or through qualifying, e.g. "Q-school."
The winner of each Fall Series event, as in the case of all other PGA Tour events, received an exemption for the remainder of that season and the entirety of the following two seasons, and also received an automatic invitation to the following year's PGA Championship. However, winners of Fall Series tournaments did not receive automatic invitations to the following year's Masters, as these were given only to winners of tournaments that offer a full FedEx Cup points allocation.
In 2007, the Fall Series began the week after the final FedEx Cup event, The Tour Championship. In 2008, the first event took place the week before The Tour Championship. The Fall Series then took a week off before resuming with its final six events.
In March 2012, the PGA Tour announced substantial changes to its schedule and qualifying process. Starting with the 2014 season, the PGA Tour season would begin in October of the previous calendar year. As a result, the Fall Series tournaments would become part of the regular season. At the time these changes were announced, it had not been determined whether Fall Series events would receive full FedEx Cup points. Fry's, currently the title sponsor of a Fall Series event, notified the PGA Tour that it had "concern" about continuing the sponsorship if the events did not receive full points.[2] In June of that year, the PGA Tour announced that the former Fall Series events would receive full points.[1]
In 2023, the PGA Tour reverted to a calendar-based schedule, with the fall tournaments (now known as the FedEx Cup Fall) once again forming the conclusion of the season.[3] Since FedEx Cup points rather than the money list are now used to determine the exempt top 125, the fall events will continue to award points despite being held after the playoffs; as a result, winners will receive Masters invitations.
- ^ a b "Fall Series events to offer full FedExCup points" (Press release). PGA Tour. June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
- ^ "PGA Tour announces changes". ESPN.com. March 21, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
- ^ "PGA Tour announces reimagined 2023 FedExCup Fall". PGA Tour. April 12, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.