Top 50 bubble watch: PGA Tour players currently in and out of next year’s designated events (after Memorial Tournament)

For PGA Tour players, being inside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup Standings now comes with more than just a spot in the field at the BMW Championship.

Earlier this year the PGA Tour’s board ratified a new approach for the Tour’s 2024 schedule that will see reduced fields in new designated events that feature increased purses up to $20 million. Fields in designated events will contain between 70 and 78 players and be largely comprised of the top 50 players who qualify for the BMW Championship during the previous season’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, adding some extra intrigue to the season-long race that was desperately needed.

Midway through major season, with the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club on the horizon and the Memorial Tournament in the rearview, here’s a look at some players who are currently in – and out – of next year’s designated events.

FedEx Cup: Full standings here

Bubble watch

Check out the last 10 in and first 10 out as the points stand after the 2023 Memorial Tournament, where No. 40 Hayden Buckley (754 points) and No. 60 J.J. Spaun (549) are separated by a little more than 200 points.

Biggest movers

Despite coming up short in the playoff to Viktor Hovland at the Memorial, Denny McCarthy was the big mover of the week, jumping 21 spots to No. 26 to find a little breathing room from the top-50 cutoff. Hovland’s fourth win on Tour saw him move up 10 spots to fourth.

No golfers played their way in or out of the top 50 this week, but the top 30 or so players are beginning to pull away and secure their safety.

Notables inside the top 50

The usual suspects this season of Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa are all Nos. 1-3 in the standings, with the newcomer Hovland in fourth and Tony Finau dropping to fifth.

Kurt Kitayama (14) has reached as high as fifth this season but moved outside the top 10 this week.

Thomas Detry has come out swinging in his first full season on Tour. The Belgian has eight top 25s and three top 10s in 19 starts and currently sits 41st. Same with 34-year-old Eric Cole (43), who has either finished in the top 25 or been cut in 11 of his last 13 starts.

Fan favorites Jason Day (7) and Rickie Fowler (22) are both inside the top 25, same with Jordan Spieth (18), who continues to climb after a slow start to the season.

Notables outside the top 50

Only 127 points separate Nos. 51 Tommy Fleetwood (611) and 70 Justin Suh (484).

Justin Thomas is currently No. 75 but would still qualify for the designated events due to his top-30 place in the Official World Golf Ranking (15), same with Tommy Fleetwood (51) and Hideki Matsuyama (57). Cameron Young – ranked 17^th in the world – sits 47^th in the FedEx Cup standings just inside the line.

Other notable players currently outside the top 50 (ranking in parentheses):

• Keith Mitchell (61)
• Joel Dahmen (72)
• Adam Scott (80)
• Shane Lowry (88)
• Gary Woodland (93)
• Billy Horschel (108)
• Webb Simpson (156)

There’s still plenty of time for players to make their moves up the standings, and we’ll be here to keep you updated on the top 50 storylines for the rest of the season.