FedEx Cup Playoffs: Who’s in, who’s out after the Wyndham Championship
The FedEx Cup Playoff field for 2018 is set. After a long regular season, who locked up their card for 2019, and who’s already looking for the next opportunity?
The race for the FedEx Cup Playoffs is a long and arduous test. From the first tee shot of the Safeway Open more than ten months ago, up until Brandt Snedeker’s final putt sank on No. 18 at the Wyndham Championship, players have given everything they have for one goal.
Make the Playoffs, and lock up your card for the 2018-19 PGA TOUR season.
45 events make up the PGA TOUR’s regular season. From major championships to “alternate field” events, every point matters. Now, only the four FedEx Cup Playoff events remain.
For some players, the dream lives on as they prepare for The Northern Trust later this week.
For others, though, including a handful of household names, it’s back to the drawing board and on to next year.
That’s the wonderful, stressful, and amazing thing about the professional golf game. It’s perhaps the ultimate meritocracy – shoot the best scores, and it doesn’t matter what college you went to, or what’s in your bank account; you prosper. Fail to make the mark, and likewise, you’re headed home early.
This week’s Wyndham Championship didn’t have the most star-studded field of the season, but it had some of the highest stakes of any event out there. Careers are changed here every year. Here, we’ll take a look at some of the week’s biggest winners and losers.
Whose bubbles didn’t burst for the FedEx Cup Playoffs?
The biggest storylines of the Wyndham Championship didn’t come from the top of the field. Still, I would be remiss to completely gloss over the accomplishments of the top finishers.
Brandt Snedeker, who rode an opening-round 59 to a narrow wire-to-wire victory, had the biggest jump of the week. The 500 points he earned for his first victory since February of 2016 catapulted him from 80th in the FedEx Cup points race all the way to 30th. If he can hold serve for these next three weeks, he’ll return to the TOUR Championship once again.
Webb Simpson didn’t need the T-2 finish for Playoff positioning, but co-runner-up C.T. Pan will certainly enjoy the spoils of a great week. at Sedgefield. The 26-year-old native of Taiwan was ranked just 194th in the world heading into the Wyndham, but the 245 points he earned brought him from 108th to 63rd in the Playoff rank. That 45-position bump was the second-biggest of the week, behind only Snedeker.
While plenty of players fought to keep their bubble positions intact, a few stuck out among the rest. Two players fought from outside the top 125 to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs and maintain their TOUR status for 2019.
Two-time TOUR winner Harris English extended his streak of Playoff appearances to a perfect seven-for-seven. It was his worst season as a pro, missing 19 of 30 cuts this year, but this week’s tie for 11th place earned him 56 points, moving him up from 132nd to 124th, just inside the bubble.
The other qualifier from this week is Canada’s Nick Taylor. The 30-year-old put together a bogey-free round of 63, including four straight birdies on Nos. 2-5. It was also Taylor’s lowest career round on the PGA TOUR, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Taylor jumped ten spots to No. 119, sealing his third FedEx Cup Playoff in four years.
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Finally, Sam Saunders secured his 2019 TOUR card and his first FedEx Cup Playoff berth at Sedgefield. Although he could muster only a T-45 finish, it was strong enough to maintain his place at No. 120 in the points race, and he’ll move on to The Northern Trust in just a few short days.
Bubbles burst: Who missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs?
Of course, when we talk about players who fought their way in this week, that must necessarily mean that some worked their way out, as well.
At the Wyndham, those two players were Martin Piller (down from 124th to 126th) and Tyrone Van Aswegen (125th to 127th). While there’s not necessarily a ton to be positive about here, their elimination was at least fairly swift, as both players missed the cut and would have needed massive amounts of help to stay inside the Top 125.
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A similar fate awaited Chad Campbell, who came in on the bubble at No. 126, but fell to 128th after his own missed cut.
The story of this week, at least as it relates to “what could have been”, is centered squarely on Sergio Garcia. The 2017 Masters champion is trending towards his first winless year worldwide since 2013, and he failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoff for the first time in his career.
It’s just been a generally awful year for Garcia in general on the course, with just four top-25 finishes (tied for least in his career) against eight missed cuts (tied with 2003 for the worst mark of his career). He also missed the cut at all four majors for the first time in his career.
Now, Garcia may turn his focus toward the end of the European Tour season, as he looks to earn a Captain’s selection from Thomas Bjorn for the Ryder Cup.
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Of course, regardless of where a player finished this week, the paths forward are varied and plentiful. The FedEx Cup Playoffs await the Top 125. Some near-misses will head to the Web.com Tour Finals, while others will just rest up and prepare for the fall season in a few short weeks.
Golf is a fickle game, and even tougher when you’re playing to put food on the table. Here’s wishing all the best to those who are now looking for ways to keep playing for a paycheck.