News: Viking Classic

For the first time in tournament history, the Viking Classic is offering FedExCup points, a result of the scheduling move from the Fall Series to the regular season.

This week’s winner will get 250 FedExCup points. Considering that 380 points was good enough last year to claim a spot in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, the Viking Classic winner could set himself up nicely to grab a spot inside the top 125 on the points list.

And since many of the players in the field this week at Annandale Golf Course need to secure their Playoff positions — just five weeks remain in the regular season after this week — the importance of playing well this week is even more vital.

"It’s a badge of honor for us to be moved inside the … epicenter of the golf season," Viking Classic tournament director Randy Watkins told the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger.

Last year, the tournament ended in the first week of October. Because of the move to the summer, that means less competition with college football but hotter temperatures.

Dealing with weather conditions is just part of being a TOUR pro.

"Everybody is talking about how hot it’s going to be," Johnson Wagner, a two-time TOUR winner who the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun earlier this year, told the Clarion-Ledger. "I just love the golf course and people and town so much I don’t mind the heat."