PGA Tour's playoffs extended for five more years

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

MARANA, Arizona (Reuters) - The FedExCup playoffs, the PGA Tour's lucrative four-event season finale, have been extended for a further five years, commissioner Tim Finchem said on Wednesday.

Launched in 2007, the playoffs will continue to offer $35 million in total bonus money to players based on their finish in the points standings, including a $10 million jackpot for the overall winner.

Finchem said that FedEx had extended its umbrella sponsorship until the end of the 2017 season.

"We've seen it grow, it's become a big part of what the PGA Tour is all about," Finchem told reporters at Dove Mountain on the first day of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

"It has had the effect of pulling our season together. We're going to try to make some adjustments in the next couple of years to do that with the FedExCup in an even more impactful way."

While not disclosing any financial details, Finchem said there would be further growth in the FedExCup over the next five years.

"How that plays out in terms of the distribution of dollars we're not sure, but we're certainly going forward, not backwards during this term," Finchem added.

American Bill Haas won the 2011 FedExCup and its $10 million bonus after beating compatriot Hunter Mahan in a thrilling playoff for the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.

(Editing by Alison Wildey)