PGA TOUR changes FedEx Cup playoffs eligibility to account for suspensions

The PGA TOUR is introducing a new eligibility points list ahead of this year's FedEx Cup playoffs, according to Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard.

The new eligibility standard will be slightly different from the season's ongoing FedEx Cup points list as it will remove suspended players from the rankings.

The purpose of the change was so "that suspended members do not negatively impact other players' tournament eligibility, positioning on the priority rankings or eligibility to compete in the FedEx Cup playoffs," said a memo PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan sent to TOUR players, according to Hoggard.

This new list will not replace the FedEx Cup points list but instead be used as eligibility for the FedEx Cup playoffs and the priority rankings next season, according to the memo.

Previously, the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list at the end of the final regular season TOUR event qualified for the first playoff tournament. If a player inside the top 125 chose not to participate in that first playoff event, an alternate would not replace them.

The TOUR has suspended players who have joined Greg Norman's Saudi-backed LIV Golf series without resigning upon departure, which this new eligibility list will account for.

Talor Gooch is currently the top-ranked LIV player still on the FedEx Cup points list at No. 20, followed by Matt Jones at No. 62 and Hudson Swafford at No. 63, among five other players within the top 125.

As it stands, golfers ranked Nos. 126-133 would now gain entry into the first playoff event as long as they weren't suspended by the TOUR.

The TOUR's eligibility rankings will also not be final until after the Wyndham Championship.