FedExCup update: Sahith Theegala learns from close calls with clutch run to East Lake

WILMINGTON, Del. – Sahith Theegala could still feel the sting of defeat from a couple of close calls this season, but the rookie was left floating on air after the final round of the BMW Championship.

After beginning the day with his hands shaking, he produced a clutch finish – a back-nine 33 for a 3-under 68 and a T15 finish – to secure a trip to the TOUR Championship and with it a chance to win the FedExCup. He’ll go in as the 28th seed.

“It felt really different,” Theegala said. “Like a tournament within the tournament.”

Theegala, 24, came to Wilmington Country Club as the 27th seed. He knew he would need to play well to hold his spot inside the top 30, but after a 1-over 72 opening round that included a four-putt from 56-feet he was already projected to miss advancing. In a season of solid and sometimes spectacular play, but also tough losses – a bogey on the 71st hole at the WM Phoenix Open, a double at the last at the Travelers Championship – this near miss would finally bring his maiden PGA TOUR campaign to an end.

And then he rallied. Instead of throwing in the towel, the former Pepperdine standout responded with rounds of 68-69 to head to Sunday outside the chase for the BMW trophy, but still with a chance of making it to the TOUR Championship. That would mean berths in three of the four majors next season, plus THE PLAYERS Championship and invitational events, and an outside chance at the FedExCup trophy next week. It was a lot to think about.

“I was really nervous this morning,” he said. “I had a little bit of the shakes warming up. I couldn't hold my hands still. I felt great mindset-wise, but just body-wise I knew something big was on the line.”

After 11 holes on Sunday, Theegala was 1 over and projected outside the top 30. At this point it would have been easy to dwell on past mishaps. Theegala got bogged down in a fairway bunker and double-bogeyed 18 to lose to Xander Schauffele by two at the Travelers Championship. Theegala was the solo leader after the second and third rounds at the WM Phoenix Open before a rough bounce at the drivable 17th hole found the water hazard late Sunday. Scottie Scheffler took advantage and won.

This time, though, Theegala – who also contended at the Sanderson Farms Championship last fall, but shot a final-round 71 – was not to be denied. Drawing on those lessons and demonstrating the resolve we saw glimpses of at TPC Scottsdale and TPC River Highlands, he made three straight birdies on holes 12-14 at Wilmington Country Club.

The birdie burst catapulted him back towards the East Lake safe zone, and he brought it home despite battling nerves off the tee over the final three holes. The masterstroke: A 37-foot birdie putt on 17. His slicing approach from the right trees on 18 wasn’t bad, either.

In the end, Theegala advanced despite hitting just one fairway in the final round.

“That was a wild ride,” he said. “… I kept hitting it a foot in the rough, and then just from there this course is too firm, you can't even go at pins. Felt like I was hitting it to 60 feet and two-putting all day.”

Theegala ranked last in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee with a dismal -5.901 for the week. It was over a stroke worse than the second worst player and more than 10 shots behind stat leader Rory McIlroy (5.536). But in the crunch time, Theegala thought back to his childhood days of slinging shots around trees he couldn’t clear at El Prado G.C. in Southern California. He manufactured shots. He found a way.

He played the 16th hole from the rough but got up and down for par.

He seemed to surprise himself in finding the fairway on the 17th,because he followed it up with an admittedly underwhelming wedge shot to 36-feet. Then he drained the birdie. Now he could taste it; his ticket to East Lake was tantalizingly close.

His swing on the 18th tee was a bad one, producing a block-slice into the right trees, but he managed to carve-slice an approach up to just short of the putting surface. From there, he once again got up and down to clinch a T15 finish and a TOUR Championship berth.

“I really left everything out there on the last six or seven holes,” Theegala said after making a crucial 7-foot par putt on 18. “Just happy how I handled myself for sure. (It’s) the validation of the season, it's another step for me to feel like I really belong. It means the world to make the TOUR Championship and stand along 29 of the other best golfers in the world.

“… That putt on the last hole just felt so big,” he continued. “It really felt like some of the putts I had made coming down the stretch when I was near the lead. It feels a little better to get some closure today. I felt like I fully closed it. Didn't leave any shots out there the last seven or eight holes, whereas the other times I felt like obviously I have. Just having that closure is cool.”

NOTES: Scottie Scheffler regained the top spot in the FedExCup standings with his T3 finish at the BMW. Scheffler had held the No. 1 spot since March but lost it when he missed the cut at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship. Will Zalatoris, who won the FedEx for his first TOUR title, supplanted Scheffler atop the standings. Zalatoris fell to No. 3 in the standings, however, after withdrawing from the BMW with a back injury. Patrick Cantlay, who’s trying to become the first player to win back-to-back FedExCups, is No. 2 in the standings after winning the BMW for the second straight year. … Both Aaron Wise and Adam Scott had to make par on 18 out of bunkers to earn the final two spots in the TOUR Championship. Neither player had a shot to spare in his East Lake quest. Wise drove into a fairway bunker on 18 but hit his approach to 30 feet and two-putted for par. He finished 30th in the standings. Scott nearly drove into the sand, but was left with an awkward lie instead. With his ball sitting on grass and his feet in the sand, he pulled his approach well left of the green, leaving himself a 34-yard bunker shot. He hit it to 2 feet and saved par to finish 29th in the standings. … Shane Lowry came up a stroke short of his first TOUR Championship, finishing 31st in the FedExCup after three-putting from 65 feet on the 71st hole. “It was so weird out there today,” said Lowry, winner of the 2019 Open Championship. “It was like trying to make a cut on a Sunday.” Lowry finished T12 in the BMW to jump from 37th to 31st in the FedExCup.

Here’s a look at the players who moved into the top 30 in the FedExCup standings at the BMW Championship to earn their spot in the TOUR Championship, and the players they bumped out.

MOVING IN

Scott Stallings(No. 46 to No. 12): He finished a shot short of his first PGA TOUR title since 2014, but his TOUR Championship debut in his 12th season is a nice consolation.

K.H. Lee(No. 33 to No. 26): He finished 31st in last year’s FedExCup after a 72nd-hole bogey at the BMW. This year, his Sunday 65 matched the low round of the day and led to a T5.

Adam Scott(No. 45 to 29): Started the Playoffs at No. 77 but is headed back to East Lake for the first time since 2019 after finishing T5 in the first two Playoffs events. Sand save on BMW’s last hole clinched his spot at the TOUR Championship.

Aaron Wise (No. 31 to No. 30): He’s back at East Lake for the first time since his Rookie of the Year season in 2018. Had to par his final two holes to make East Lake.

MOVING OUT

J.J. Spaun (No. 30 to No. 33): Will rue his final round at the FedEx St. Jude where he shot a final-round 78 after starting Sunday with the lead. Finished T23 at BMW.

Joohyung Kim (No. 25 to No. 34): Thomas the Tank Engine ran out of steam, finishing T54 at BMW. Still, impressive to have a chance at the top 30 in just 11 starts. Wyndham winner is on to Presidents Cup.

Davis Riley (No. 26 to No. 35): Solid rookie season, including playoff loss at Valspar and five other top-10s, comes to an end after T54 at BMW.

Kevin Kisner (No. 28 to No. 38): Finished 38th in FedExCup for second straight year after making TOUR Championship in five of last six seasons.

Want to relive the drama of the BMW Championship's final round and the chase for spots in the TOUR Championship in real time? Then read below for our live updates file from the day, which recounts all of the movements around the top 30 bubble.

Drama is an inherent part of the BMW Championship’s final round, as players compete for one of the TOUR’s most historic titles as well as a spot among the elite next week at East Lake. The 30-man field for the season-ending TOUR Championship isn’t determined until the final putt of the penultimate event drops.

LIVE UPDATES FROM BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

Adam Scott has made eight TOUR Championship appearances in the FedExCup era, 11 overall.

At age 42, he’s headed back to East Lake for a 12th time -- and first since 2019 -- after a theatrical fashion.

Scott needed a closing par at the BMW Championship to hold off Shane Lowry and punch his ticket to Atlanta. He did so, but not without a sweat. Scott’s tee shot at the 72nd hole found the left rough and he was forced to stand in a fairway bunker for his approach. He tugged it left into a greenside bunker before playing a brilliant third shot to within 2 feet.

Scott made par to secure the No. 29 position on the FedExCup. A bogey would have dropped him to 31st on the standings, 3 points behind Lowry.

Scott played the front nine Sunday in 2 over before rallying with an eagle at the par-5 12th. He offset a bogey at 13 with a birdie at the following hole, and he closed with four consecutive pars for a T4 finish that proved just enough.

The 14-time TOUR winner entered the Playoffs at No. 77 on the FedExCup, and he finished T5 at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship to move to No. 45. With a second straight top-five at Wilmington CC, he’s headed to the TOUR Championship.

- 5:55 p.m. ET

- 5:32 p.m. ET

Adam Scott two-putted from 60 feet for a crucial par at No. 16. He projects No. 29 on the FedExCup with two holes to play.

With one bogey over the final two holes, Scott would project to No. 31, just 3 points behind Shane Lowry.

Aaron Wise, playing the 18th hole, holds a similar scenario as Scott. He currently projects No. 30; a bogey would push him to No. 31, 9 points behind Lowry.

- 5:20 p.m. ET

- 5:13 p.m. ET

Wise's 15-foot par putt on No. 16 missed by the slimmest of margins, hanging on the lip but refusing to fall. Golf is a game of inches. Sometimes even smaller margins decide who makes the TOUR Championship.

- 5:02 p.m. ET

Aaron Wise looked to be cruising toward a TOUR Championship berth, but few are safe from a stressful finish when seeking one of the last spots in the TOUR Championship.

The Oregon alum missed the green long on the par-3 15th, and his second shot failed to reach the putting surface. He chipped 11 feet past the hole and two-putted for double bogey.

Wise now projects to No. 29 in the FedExCup with three holes to play. He can afford one more bogey under current projections, but two bogeys would move him to No. 31. Shane Lowry would be the beneficiary.

Concurrently, Corey Conners has made back-to-back birdies at Nos. 15 and 16 to move safely off the bubble. The Canadian is projected No. 26. Even with two closing bogeys, he would still project to No. 29.

- 4:50 p.m. ET

After an eagle on 12, Adam Scott quickly gave one shot back with a bogey at the par-3 13th; he missed the green and could not convert a 7-foot par try.

Scott now holds the No. 30 position on the projected FedExCup standings, a mere 4 projected points ahead of Shane Lowry.

With five holes to play, Scott is walking the tightrope. One bogey would move Scott outside the top 30, with Lowry moving into the TOUR Championship field in that scenario.

- 4:45 p.m. ET

Adam Scott looked to be leaking oil after turning in 2-over Sunday. He began the day projected 27th on the FedExCup, T4 this week, but was projected No. 33 with seven holes to play.

An eagle on the par-5 12th changed that, as Scott followed a 375-yard drive with a 201-yard approach to 16 feet. He drained the putt to move back to T4, the day's lone eagle on No. 12.

Scott is now projected No. 28; he can afford one bogey as things currently stand.

Sahith Theegala, in the clubhouse, holds the No. 29 spot, with Corey Conners (thru 14) projected No. 30. Shane Lowry is projected No. 31 in the clubhouse, awaiting the finish of Scott and Conners.

- 4:29 p.m. ET

"It was so weird out there today, it was like trying to make a cut on a Sunday, and I'm also trying to do well in the tournament," Lowry said. "It's like, it was a strange feeling."

"Stings, but I left it all out there," said Mullinax, who will likely finish just short. "I did everything I could do today."

- 4:15 p.m. ET

If K.H. Lee had been haunted by his finish at last year’s BMW Championship, he can put those nightmares to rest.

The South Korean finished 31st on last year’s FedExCup, missing the TOUR Championship by the slimmest of margins after hitting his approach on the 72nd hole into a penalty area and making bogey.

This year, Lee delivered a signature Sunday at Wilmington CC, carding 6-under 65 with two birdies in his final three holes to move off the bubble and cement his spot at East Lake.

Lee entered this week at No. 33 on the FedExCup and was projected No. 35 into the final round, T26 on the leaderboard. He’s now solo fourth and projected No. 21.

The 30-year-old who has stated dual goals of becoming the "No. 1 golfer in the world and No. 1 sexiest golfer in the world" is headed to his first TOUR Championship. He adds a statement line to his Presidents Cup resume, as well, having entered the week No. 9 in the International Team standings; the top eight after Sunday will automatically qualify, with four Captain's Picks to follow.

"When I was younger, I always (thought about) playing on the International Team," Lee said. "Hopefully I can play the Presidents Cup this year. That would be an amazing honor for me."

- 3:25 p.m. ET

Sahith Theegala isn’t going away.

After beginning the final round projected No. 27, the TOUR rookie played his first 11 holes in 1 over to fall well outside the projected top 30. His prospects looked bleak. But the precocious Pepperdine alum dug deep with birdies on 12, 13 and 14, and after an up-and-down for par on 16, he drained a 37-foot birdie at the par-4 17th.

Theegala is now just a half-point behind Adam Scott for the 30th spot. Scott has played his first seven holes in 1 over par to put his chances of winning, and making the TOUR Championship, in jeopardy.

-3:19 p.m. ET

"If you told me I'd make the TOUR Championship as a rookie, I'd laugh in your face.”

Sahith Theegala is on the verge of converting these sentiments to reality.

Last year at this time, the Pepperdine alum narrowly gained Korn Ferry Tour Finals entry via non-member FedExCup points and converted the opportunity into his PGA TOUR card.

He arrived in Delaware at No. 27 in the FedExCup and was projected No. 30 into Sunday. He was 1 over through 11 holes Sunday, his prospects looking bleak.

Theegala has rattled off consecutive birdies on Nos. 12-14, from 5, 7 and 7 feet respectively, and is now back to projected No. 31. With one more birdie, he’d project No. 30.

- 2:39 p.m. ET

After beginning the final round with back-to-back bogeys, Corey Conners had given away a slight cushion from entering the day T8 on the leaderboard and projected 28th in the FedExCup.

The Canadian has rallied with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4 and 5, from 37 feet and 5 feet respectively. He’s now projected No. 27 in the standings as he aims to secure a second straight TOUR Championship appearance.

- 2:20 p.m. ET

Make that back-to-back birdies for Trey Mullinax, who is now one outside the top 30 cut line after holing a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 9 and 13-footer on the next hole. In three previous seasons, Mullinax had made the Playoffs just once and never cracked the top 100. Could East Lake be beckoning?

- 2:12 p.m. ET

Trey Mullinax has work to do but the man who won his first PGA TOUR title (Barbasol Championship) earlier this year put his first TOUR Championship berth within reach. Mullinax started the Playoffs at No. 70 in the FedExCup but jumped 30 spots with his T5 finish last week. His birdie at No. 9 put him two shots outside the top 30 cut line.

- 2:09 p.m. ET

, has dropped to No. 30 with bogeys on his first two holes and Wise is No. 29 after a double at the second hole.

Lowry, Wise and Conners are now Nos. 28-30 in the projected standings and all one shot inside the cut line.

Denny McCarthy is currently No. 31 and a stroke outside the top 30. McCarthy has been clutch with the best club in his bag, making a 4-foot par putt on No. 1 and a 7-footer on the next hole.

- 1:49 p.m. ET

This hole-out by Shane Lowry was his third birdie in his last four holes and moved him to projected 32nd in the FedExCup, on the cusp of earning his first start at East Lake.

Lowry's best FedExCup finish was 33rd in 2019, the same year he won The Open Championship.

- 1:29 p.m. ET

The final groups are preparing to tee off in the BMW Championship and there are several players with late tee times who stand to have a big impact on the bubble:

The 1:05 p.m. pairing of Corey Conners and Denny McCarthy will be particularly consequential. McCarthy began Sunday in 10th place to sit 29th in the projected FedExCup standings. Conners was T8 through 54 holes and began the final round 28th in the projected standings. To illustrate how quickly things can change, McCarthy had already fallen to 31st in the projected standings before he teed off (by virtue of K.H. Lee passing him on the leaderboard).

McCarthy is looking for his first TOUR Championship appearance. Conners is looking for his second straight start at East Lake, and third in the last four years. At sixth in the International Team’s Presidents Cup standings, he is all but a lock to qualify for his first Presidents Cup at day’s end, as well.

Conners and McCarthy could have a large impact on the bubble. With a good day, they could rocket up the FedExCup standings but they’re only a few strokes from falling outside the top 30, as well.

Aaron Wise, who tees off one group after Conners and McCarthy, is in a similar position. Wise started Sunday at T6 in the BMW and was projected to jump from 31st to 25th in the standings. Wise is looking for his first TOUR Championship appearance since his Rookie of the Year season of 2018.

Adam Scott, who was T4 through 54 holes, looks to make East Lake after starting the FedExCup at No. 77 in the standings.

The biggest move, though, is being made by Scott Stallings, who is T2 after 54 holes. He started the week at 46th in the standings but is projected to move to 16th. He has won three times on the PGA TOUR but is seeking his first TOUR Championship start in his 12th season.

- 1:03 p.m. ET

Last year, K.H. Lee was the odd man out. He finished 31st in the FedExCup after hitting his approach to the BMW’s 72nd hole into a penalty area and making a bogey. He’s trying to avoid a similar fate this year. Lee made birdie on his first four holes Sunday to move into 29th in the projected standings. Lee won the AT&T Byron Nelson in both 2021 and 2022. He wants this season to end at East Lake, however. Lee came out firing, as all four of his birdies came on putts of 12 feet or less. A strong finish at the BMW Championship also will help Lee’s candidacy for this year’s International Presidents Cup team. Lee, who’s looking to make his Presidents Cup debut, entered the week ranked ninth in the team’s standings. The top eight after Sunday will automatically qualify for the team, and Captain Trevor Immelman will round out his squad with four Captain’s Picks.

- 12:38 p.m. ET