These Three Are Keeping Their FedEx Cup Dreams Alive In Memphis
This week in Memphis, Tennessee, there are two tournaments going on. The first is this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship where players are competing for a share of 15 million dollars, with the winner taking home a cool 2.7 million dollar prize.
Then there is the big picture matter of this year’s FedEx Cup playoffs with hopefuls fighting to keep their season alive and in the process advance to next week’s BMW Championship. 70 competitors will have earned that right come Sunday evening.
The shape of the ever-changing playoff picture is continuing to evolve as the week progresses and while there is still much to be decided over the weekend, there are three in particular who have given their dreams of advancing a significant boost after two rounds of action at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Keeping the FedEx Cup dream alive
With extra FedEx Cup points on offer during the PGA’s postseason format, players have a real opportunity of making a serious move throughout the playoffs.
Two great performances over the next two weeks and you could suddenly find yourself making the trip to East Lake for the Tour Championship, regardless of your standing coming into the playoffs.
With two rounds of this week’s first playoff event officially in the books, these three have already made significant strides in their quest to advance.
Ryan Palmer
The PGA Tour veteran is projected to make one of the most significant moves this week as things currently stand.
Palmer came into the week ranked 110th in the FedEx Cup standings, but following two excellent rounds over the first two days he is projected to climb 54 spots and is on pace to advance to next week.
The Texan charged up the leaderboard following an opening round 65 on Thursday which included six birdies and an eagle out of the gate. A follow-up 67 during his second round sees Ryan heading into the weekend inside the top 5 on the leaderboard and just three shots adrift of 36-hole leader J.J Spaun.
Ryan Palmer has five top 25 finishes on Tour this season with his best result coming back in May at the AT&T Byron Nelson where he notched a T-5 finish.
The four-time PGA winner is off to a fantastic start at the FedEx St. Jude Championship but will need no worse than a 17th-place finish this week in order to move on.
Adam Scott
The 2013 Masters winner came into the first FedEx Cup playoff event knowing he needed a solid week in Memphis in order to keep his playoff hopes alive. So far so good for Adam Scott.
Rounds of 66 and 67 have seen the Australian jump over 20 spots in the standings. Scott began the week just outside of the top 70 and so far, at least, has done enough to ensure himself a spot in next week’s BMW Championship as things currently stand.
The 31-time career winner has notched five top 25 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, this includes three top 10 finishes. Highlights included a top 10 finish at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and a T4 at the Genisis Invitational back in February.
Adam heads into the weekend at the FedEx St. Jude Championship inside of the top 10 on the leaderboard and he currently sits 53rd in the projected FedEx Cup standings. He needs no worse than a 47th place finish to move on to next week.
Tyler Duncan
Much like Ryan Palmer before him, Duncan is currently projected to make a significant move in the FedEx Cup race. Unlike Palmer, however, Tyler still has some work to do in order to get inside of that top 70 number.
Still, rounds of 70, and more importantly a 63 on Friday, are a great start. Duncan’s bogey-free second round sees him inside of the top 10 heading into the weekend at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and projected to jump some 45 places in the FedEx Cup standings.
The 33-year-old had six top 25 finishes during the PGA Tour regular season, he will need at the very least a finish of 13th, and probably some outside help in order to keep his FedEx Cup dreams alive this weekend.
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Just under half of the field this week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship will see their seasons end, but these three are currently doing their best to keep their FedEx Cup dreams alive.