The PGA Tour’s annual playoff decider, the Wyndham Championship, has a decidedly different bubble this year.
With the PGA Tour shrinking the field for its FedExCup playoff opener, the FedEx St. Jude Invitational, from 125 players to just 70, the fight for the postseason was made much tougher. Sam Ryder, at No. 62, is mathematically safe, but the eight top-70 players behind him – player who in past years would already be eyeing a run at the BMW Championship? They aren’t, and all eight, including current last man in Austin Eckroat, are in the Wyndham field.
As for those just outside the current playoff picture, those notables include Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas and Adam Scott. Further down the points list are Akshay Bhatia, Billy Horschel and Ludvig Aberg, the latter of whom still has an outside shot – he’ll need to win Sunday at Sedgefield Country Club.
Ben Taylor is Mr. 71 at the moment, and he only needs a minimum finish of solo 75th to have a chance at climbing into the top 70. Here are the minimum requirements for the next four players outside the bubble:
- 72. Garrick Higgo – solo 51st
- 73. K.H. Lee – solo 32nd
- 74. David Lingmerth – Two-way tie for 26th
- 75. Davis Thompson – solo 25th
Here is a look at 10 notable names currently out, why they’re in such a position and what they need to do this week to keep their seasons alive:
Shane Lowry
FedExCup position: 76
Why he’s in this spot: Lack of top-10s. Aside from a T-5 finish at the Honda Classic in February, Lowry doesn’t have another top-10 finish in 17 starts. He does boast eight total top-20s, three of those coming in majors, but with the way FedExCup points are divvied out after the winner’s share, the quality of tournaments for those top-20s matter little.
Minimum finish needed: Two-way tie for 23rd
Justin Suh
FedExCup position: 77
Why he’s in this position: Stagnant summer. Following a T-6 finish at The Players, Suh jumped to a season-best No. 61 in points. He’s missed just one cut in 14 starts since, but he also has just two top-25s during that span. He does rank No. 12 on Tour in strokes gained putting, so he’ll need to rely heavily on the flatstick at Sedgefield if he wants to keep his season going.
Minimum finish needed: Two-way tie for 19th
Justin Thomas
FedExCup position: 79
Why he’s in this position: Ball-striking. Prior to this season, Thomas ranked in the top 5 in strokes gained tee to green for seven straight seasons. He’s been third or better in each of the past six. Right now, he’s No. 25, which doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when you combine that drop with being No. 158 in strokes gained putting, it explains why Thomas has struggled. His missed cut at 3M was his fifth in his past seven starts.
Minimum finish needed: Solo 18th
Matt Wallace
FedExCup position: 80
Why he’s in this position: Post-win letdown. The Englishman jumped to No. 40 in points after winning the opposite-field Corales Puntacana Championship in late March. But he’s followed that victory with no top-25s and seven missed cuts in 13 Tour starts.
Minimum finish needed: Solo 14th
Adam Scott
FedExCup position: 81
Why he’s in this position: Approach play. He ranks a career-worst No. 130 in strokes gained approach after twice leading the Tour in that category and only ranking outside the top 100 once in the strokes-gained era. He strung together three top-10s in four starts, including a T-9 at Memorial, but he’s made just 16 starts all season and with that type of workload, three total top-10s aren’t going to cut it.
Minimum finish needed: Two-way tie for ninth
Joel Dahmen
FedExCup position: 82
Why he’s in this position: Hasn’t replicated fall success. Dahmen entered the holidays in great position, ranked No. 15 points thanks to five finishes of T-16 or better, including top-5s at Mayakoba and Sea Island, in seven fall starts. He took all of January off as he and his wife prepared for the birth of their first child, but since returning at Pebble, he’s cracked the top 40 just twice in 19 starts. His two finishes of T-11 or better this year came at Zurich, a team event, and Barracuda, an opposite-field event.
Minimum finish needed: Solo ninth
Kevin Yu
FedExCup position: 94
Why he’s in this position: Knee surgery. When Yu tied for seventh at Pebble Beach in February, he rose to No. 40 in points. But early that next week, prior to playing the WM Phoenix Open, Yu suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee while working out. He needed surgery, and his recovery kept him out more than four months. When he returned at Travelers and finished T-49, he was outside the top 100 in points. Since then, he’s made up some ground thanks mostly to a T-6 at the John Deere, but he’s got some work to do at Wyndham.
Minimum finish needed: Two-way tie for third
Gary Woodland
FedExCup position: 97
Why he’s in this position: Short game and putting. Woodland’s ball-striking numbers resemble what they’ve been in the past, but he’s losing almost a full shot around and on the greens while ranking outside the top 175 in both categories. His missed cut at 3M was just his third in his past 14 starts, but putting too much pressure on his long game has resulted in no top-10s during that span.
Minimum finish needed: Two-way tie for third
Akshay Bhatia
FedExCup position: 99
Why he’s in this position: Rules. Because Bhatia was a special temporary member when he won the Barracuda a couple weeks ago, an obscure Tour rule prevented him from earning non-member points at the co-sanctioned tournament, which featured a good number of DP World Tour players. Bhatia also didn’t earn points for his T-9 at the Barbasol the previous week. Bhatia said he was “shocked” when he learned about the rule. Had he received points for those two events, he’d be just outside the coveted top 50 and having already clinched a playoff berth.
Minimum finish needed: Two-way tie for third
Billy Horschel
FedExCup position: 116
Why he’s in this position: Everything. He kicked off his season with a T-7 at the CJ Cup, but he’s added just a single top-10 (making the Round of 16 at the WGC-Dell Match Play) since. His T-13 at 3M was his best finish since April, though it might be too little, too late. Horschel is down significantly in all four strokes-gained categories, and he’s gone from No. 25 in total strokes gained last season to No. 131 this season.
Minimum finish needed: Two-way tie for second
Ludvig Aberg
FedExCup position: 145
Why he’s in this position: Short runway. Turning pro in early June was always going to put Aberg, the No. 1 player in PGA Tour U, behind the 8-ball. Yet, he’s made five of six cuts with three top-25s, including a T-4 at John Deere, to give himself a shot at the postseason with a nice week at Sedgefield. And if he doesn’t, he’s got his card for next season, too.
Minimum finish needed: Win
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