And then there were two.
That’s how many PGA Tour events remaining in the regular season of the FedEx Cup before the playoffs get underway at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. Thirty-two events have come and gone and only this week’s Rocket Classic and the Wyndham Championship remain to make the top 70 in the points standings and qualify for the first leg of the three-event playoffs that conclude at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Let’s take a look at last week’s movers.
Jackson Koivun
Jackson Koivun’s win at the 3M Open lifted him to No. 70 in the season-long standings. It took him just three starts to be the bubble boy – he missed the cut at the John Deere Classic, finished T-10 at the opposite-field Isco Championship and then 500 FedEx Cup points
for winning a regular season event. Quite impressive stuff.
Brian Harman
The Georgia Bulldog shot four rounds in the 60s at TPC Twin Cities to record his best finish of the season (T-3). His first top-10 of the year propelled him up nine spots from 71st to 62nd in the FedEx Cup. He likely should be safe for the first playoff event.
Denny McCarthy
The former Wahoo star finished T-3, his best result in 20 starts this season. He vaulted from No. 97 to No. 81 but still has work to do to make the postseason after four straight seasons inside the top 50.
Chandler Phillips
He enjoyed his best result of the season at the 3M, a T-3, that lifted him 15 spots in the standings to No. 86. He is playing his best golf of the season, with four of his last five starts resulting in T-15 finishes or better.
Davis Thompson
He finished T-7 at the 3M Open but jumped only three spots to No. 93. Still it marked his first top-10 and best finish in an individual event since the Puerto Rico Open in March.
Ben Kohles
He cashed his fifth straight paycheck and third top-15 finish in a row. Kohles, who opened in 62, finished in ninth place. It didn’t change his playoff fortunes. He remains in 97th place, which is a lot better than 169th, where he stood before his hot streak. He’ll need to keep it going if he’s going to make the playoffs.
Billy Horschel
He actually dropped a spot in the standings to No. 102 despite a respectable T-13 finish. Being stuck in neutral on Sunday didn’t help his cause. He shot 1-under 70. Still, his performance snapped a streak of three missed cuts in a row and matched his best finish in an individual event this season.
Emiliano Grillo
The Argentine lipped out a putt at 18 for birdie that would have lifted him to a T-3 finish. On the bright side, a T-7 tied his best result of the season. However, Grillo could have used all the points he could get. He stayed where he started the week at No. 103.
Zac Blair
Given that he was No. 168 in the standings last month after missing the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Blair has made great strides. He’s on a run of four straight made cuts and has gone T-32, T-9, T-8, T-13. He’s also posted in the 60s in 11 of his last 12 rounds. Blair has climbed to No. 116 and will need to do something special these next two weeks.
The following 21 players qualified for the playoffs last season but are currently on the outside looking in.
- Andrew Novak (88)
- Brian Campbell (165)
- Cam Davis (191)
- Chris Kirk (142)
- Davis Riley (146)
- Denny McCarthy (81)
- Emiliano Grillo (103)
- Erik van Rooyen (144)
- Jason Day (74)
- Jhonattan Vegas (136)
- Joe Highsmith (153)
- Keegan Bradley (77)
- Kevin Yu (108)
- Lucas Glover (92)
- Mackenzie Hughes (114)
- Max Greyserman (99)
- Stephan Jaeger (79)
- Taylor Pendrith (82)
- Thomas Detry (LIV)
- Tom Hoge (77)
- Tony Finau (87)
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour FedEx Cup bubble watch as playoffs approach fast
