Fifty players remain in the lucrative FedExCup Playoffs but for 20 of them, the journey will end after this week’s BMW Championship.
The top 30 in the standings after Sunday’s final round in Illinois will advance to the Tour Championship in Atlanta from August 24, with the bottom 20 dumped out.
Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are sitting in the top three spots at the moment, followed by Lucas Glover after his back-to-back victories at the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship.
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England’s Tommy Fleetwood, meanwhile, is in 10th spot, leaping up 16 places by dint of his third-placed finish at the St Jude Championship. That maiden win on the PGA Tour may be coming…
Plenty of players just inside the top 30 – or indeed out of it – need strong weeks to extend their stay in the Playoffs, so let’s take a look at the current standings and those in jeopardy…
Jordan Spieth is 27th in the FedExCup standings and needs a strong week at the BMW Championship to stay in the Playoffs
FedExCup standings (British and Irish players in bold)
1. Jon Rahm
2. Scottie Scheffler
3. Rory McIlroy
4. Lucas Glover
5. Patrick Cantlay
6. Max Homa
7. Viktor Hovland
8. Wyndham Clark
9. Brian Harman
10. Tommy Fleetwood
11. Keegan Bradley
12. Rickie Fowler
13. Tony Finau
14. Taylor Moore
15. Russell Henley
16. Nick Taylor
17. Si Woo Kim
18. Tom Kim
19. Xander Schauffele
20. Adam Schenk
21. Jason Day
22. Collin Morikawa
23. Emiliano Grillo
24. Sepp Straka
25. Corey Conners
26. Tyrrell Hatton
27. Jordan Spieth
28. Sungjae Im
29. Chris Kirk
30. Sam Burns
31. Sahith Theegala
32. Justin Rose
33. Kurt Kitayama
34. Denny McCarthy
35. Seamus Power
36. Lee Hodges
37. Adam Hadwin
38. Byeong Hun An
39. Adam Svensson
40. Matthew Fitzpatrick
41. Andrew Putnam
42. Eric Cole
43. J.T. Poston
44. Brendon Todd
45. Cam Davis
46. Cameron Young
47. Hideki Matsuyama
48. Tom Hoge
49. Harris English
50. Patrick Rodgers
Justin Rose is 32nd in the FedExCup standings and needs to get into the top 30 to reach the Tour Championship
Spieth hopes to cling on, Rose hopes to jump in
Sitting in 27th spot, Jordan Spieth can ill-afford a bad week at the BMW. He will be in confident mood, however, having finished tied for sixth at the FedEx St Jude Championship to get inside the top 30 in what was his first outing since coming 23rd at The Open Championship last month.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton is now 26th, dropping nine spots after finishing 43rd at the St Jude, while countryman Justin Rose – the 2018 FedExCup champion – is just outside the top 30 in 32nd. Rose shot a nine-under third round last week and will hope for further fireworks in Illinois.
Who have we lost so far?
Matt Kuchar and England’s Aaron Rai were eliminated from the Playoffs last week, while Justin Thomas and Shane Lowry failed to even make them, having been ranked at 71st and 78th respectively ahead of the opening event.
Justin Thomas missed the FedExCup Playoffs in a painful way as his chip attempt at the 18th hole stayed out!
Thomas, who will now be relying on a captain’s pick to make USA’s Ryder Cup team in Rome this September, missed out on the Playoffs by one shot – after a chipped birdie attempt on his final hole at the Wyndham Championship hit the flagstick and stayed out!
What else is at stake this week?
Ryder Cup places, that’s what. The BMW Championship marks the final opportunity for American players to qualify for the team event in Italy, with those outside the top six at that point relying on skipper Zach Johnson giving them the nod.
Team USA: Top 10 in US Rankings
1) Scottie Scheffler
2) Wyndham Clark
3) Patrick Cantlay
4) Brian Harman
5) Brooks Koepka
6) Max Homa
7) Xander Schauffele
8) Jordan Spieth
9) Cameron Young
10) Collin Morikawa
World No 1 Scheffler and US Open champion Wyndham Clark have already qualified, with Patrick Cantlay, Open champion Brian Harman, PGA champion Brooks Koepka and Max Homa currently in the top six and Xander Schauffele and Spieth sitting seventh and eighth respectively.
There is possibly less pressure on Spieth with US vice-captain Fred Couples confirming a few weeks ago that the three-time major champion, as well as Homa and Cameron Young, would be part of the Ryder Cup.
Glover playing in the Ryder Cup would have been an extreme long shot a couple of months ago but those successive titles have propelled him up to 16th spot. A third win on the spin could make him an automatic pick and, if not, certainly keep him in Johnson’s mind as a wildcard selection.
