The Real Winners and Losers at The 3M Open

Tony Finau picked up the trophy at the 3M Open Sunday. But he was hardly the tournament’s only winner.

Just two events remain before the start of the 2022 FedEx Cup playoffs. You have to be within the top 125 on the season-long points list in order to qualify for that series.

The stakes are high, notably including a $75 million bonus pool. Beyond that, those finishing outside the top 125 are not automatically guaranteed to retain their playing cards next year.

For literally dozens of players who have battled all season to position themselves within that coveted top 125, the 3M Open was one of a diminishing cohort of opportunities to cement their status going forward.

Some did. In a field overripe with guys occupying the lower reaches of the current FedEx Cup standings, several played their way into contending positions this weekend.

But just as many damaged those same chances, including at least four who began the week inside the top 125 but who now find themselves on the outside.

As of now, the No. 125 player, Webb Simpson, has 343 FedEx Cup points. But that may not be good enough.

With both next week’s Rocket Mortgage event in Detroit and the following week’s Wyndham Championship in North Carolina still to be played, there are eight players within just 25 points of Simpson.

You can assume almost all of those eight will be giving it their best at both the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Wyndham Championship.

Last season it took Chesson Hadley 440 points to secure that coveted No. 125 spot. The average for the past five non-Covid seasons is 403 points to qualify.

So far this year only 95 players have accumulated 440 points, and only 104 have amassed 403.

Here’s a look at seven players who most advanced their own cases at the 3M Open.

• Tony Finau: Aside from claiming the $1.35 million first prize and the various exemptions that go along with winning, Finau put himself in excellent position to advance to the Tour Championship round in Atlanta at season’s end. Entering the week as the No. 30 player on the FedEx Cup list – the absolute last rung of the Tour Championship ladder – he climbed all the way to 17th. Finau now has 1,412 FedEx Cup points. Last year Patrick Reed made the Tour Championship with 31 fewer points than Finau has right now.
• Emiliano Grillo: With his T2, Grillo jumped nearly 40 spots in the FedEx Cup standings, from 92nd all the way to 53rd. He has 691 points, greatly improving his prospects of not only making the field but surviving to play at least the competition’s second leg, the BMW Championship.
• James Hahn: He desperately needed a strong performance this weekend, and with a tie for fourth he got it. Having begun the week in a tenuous 123rd spot on the points list, his showing this week elevated Hahn 14 places to 109th. Hahn earned 115 FedEx Cup points this week, a personal season high and more points than he had accumulated in his previous six Tour starts combined.
• Scott Piercy: Surrendering a five-stroke lead over the final 10 holes, Piercy’s Sunday may not have seemed so bright. There was a silver lining. His tie for fourth finish elevated him 26 spots in the standings, from an out-of-the-picture 138th to 112th. Like Hahn, that finish earned Piercy 115 points. Also like Hahn, that was more points than Piercy had earned in a long time…since April to be exact.

• Greyson Sigg: Sigg’s tie for seventh was the best finish of his 36-start PGA Tour career. It earned him 85 FedEx Cup points, enough to lift him from the worst possible spot – 126th – to 107th with a season-long total of 397 points. He is now positioned to qualify for his first FedEx Cup playoffs.
• Robert Streb: Streb is a two-time Tour winner fighting through a challenging 2021-22 season. That challenging season has included three top 10s but also 16 missed cuts. By tying for 11th at the 3M Open, Streb elevated his FedEx Cup standing by 13 places, from 128th to 115th. His 370 points puts him on the absolute fringes of securing a spot even if he fails to take advantage of the Rocket Mortgage Classic or the Wyndham Championship, or both.
• Stewart Cink: Even Major champions have to sweat, and that includes Cink. The 2009 British Open champion only tied for 24th at the 3M Open, but that was good enough to breathe some life into his flagging FedEx Cup hopes. It gave Cink a total of 345 points for the season, positioning himself for this week three places inside the top 125 at 122. Cink had been at 130. He’s not home free, but he’s in the hunt.

But for every winner, there has to be a loser. The 3M Open harmed the chances of as many players as it helped, including a couple of Major champions.

• Jason Day: How far Day’s star has fallen since the 2015 PGA Championship. By managing nothing better than a tie for 64th this week, Day dropped from his former No. 122 position to 127. He is now in danger of missing the playoffs entirely for the first time since 2008.
• Lucas Glover: The 2009 U.S. Open Champion began the week ranked only 114th on the season-long points list, meaning he needed a strong outing to improve his situation. Instead, Glover missed the cut. In doing so, he fell 10 spots, and he’ll begin Rocket Mortgage week as the No. 124 player in a prospective field of 125. One more missed cut and he will be undone.
• Kevin Tway: He started the week at No. 118, missed the cut, and fell out of the top 125 entirely. Tway now ranks 128th.
• Nick Taylor: Starting at a precarious No. 123, Taylor also missed the cut and lost six places, falling to 129.
• Beau Hossler: Hossler’s status for the tournament itself is solid. With a third at Pebble Beach and a fourth at the Valero Texas Open, Hossler began the week as the No. 70 player on the FedEx Cup list. That put him in position to (barely) make the playoff’s second week. But by missing the cut at the 3M, Hossler lost one spot. He now ranks 71st, meaning he has work to do if he wants to advance beyond the tournament’s first weekend.
• Stephan Jaeger: A mid-30s journeyman 10-year pro, Jaeger began the week with hopes of finally qualifying for his first FedEx Cup field. He came to Minneapolis clinging to the absolute last ticket, position 125. But a missed cut knocked him down eight pegs to 133rd. Now Jaeger, with only one finish all season inside the top 20, must do something significant at the Rocket Mortgage Classic or Wyndham to make that dream come true.

• Kramer Hickok: Hickok entered the week in the No. 124 spot on the points list, but missed the cut and fell seven spots. He now ranks 131st and needs at least one strong finish in the final two weeks to qualify.