FedExCup live blog: Track the top-50 race for BMW Championship spots

It was a topsy-turvy Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the three-event FedExCup Playoffs, both on the top of the leaderboard and around the crucial top-50 bubble. The tournament was not determined until the 72nd hole (where Hideki Matsuyama made birdie for a two-stroke win), nor was the top-50 bubble, where Nick Dunlap closed with a gritty par to maintain his spot inside the top 50, leaving Tom Kim as the first man out.

The top 50 in the FedExCup standings after the FedEx St. Jude Championship qualified for the second FedExCup Playoffs event, the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado. Making the BMW not only keeps players’ FedExCup hopes alive, but it also earns them spots in all of next year’s Signature Events, the exclusive tournaments that offer increased points and purses to the TOUR’s top players.

Sunday was an important day not only for this season, but also 2025, and several players like Dunlap answered the bell. Earlier in the day, Eric Cole and Max Greyserman matched 7-under 63s that pushed them from projected outside to inside the top-50 cutoff, and they sweated out scenarios throughout the day before their spots were finalized. Cam Davis and Keegan Bradley hung onto the Nos. 49 and 50 spots respectively (with Dunlap at No. 48), while just behind Kim as the first men out were Mackenzie Hughes and Maverick McNealy at Nos. 52 and 53 respectively.

Water-logged TPC Southwind rarely lacks for drama, particularly when the status-and-eligibility stakes are heightened, and Sunday delivered in a big way. Read below for a detailed account of how the top-50 bubble unfolded in real time at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

6:02 p.m. ET: Nick Dunlap handled the moment's magnitude and is playing on.

Needing a par at the 72nd hole at TPC Southwind to solidify his place inside the top 50, Dunlap hit the fairway and green at the beastly par 4 and safely two-putted for that crucial par. Dunlap, 20, finished the week T5 and moved from No. 67 to No. 48 on the FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List. Mission accomplished.

The first man out is Tom Kim, who finished 6-6-6 on Sunday (bogey-double bogey-double bogey) en route to a T50 finish and a fall from No. 43 to No. 51 on the FedExCup. Kim graciously met the media afterward to reflect on the disappointing day, then spent a few hours awaiting his fate, which was undetermined until Dunlap's closing par in the day's final twosome.

Cam Davis and Keegan Bradley hold down the final two spots at Nos. 49 and 50 respectively, securing their tee times next week at Castle Pines and in next season's eight Signature Events.

On the top of the leaderboard, Hideki Matsuyama rallied from a double bogey and two bogeys midway through his back nine with a birdie-birdie finish for a 17-under total and two-stroke win over Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland.

5:50 p.m. ET: It's down to the final hole for the final spot in the BMW Championship and next year's Signature Events.

After a bogey at the par-4 17th, failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker, Nick Dunlap has surrendered his wiggle room around the bubble. Dunlap is projected No. 48 on the FedExCup and needs a par to finish inside the top 50. With a bogey, Dunlap would fall to No. 51, which would move Tom Kim to No. 50.

Dunlap began the season as an amateur and has had a wild ride, winning The American Express (the first amateur to win on TOUR in 33 years) and adding a victory at the Barracuda Championship, The 72nd hole at TPC Southwind, though, represents a new type of pressure.

Cam Davis and Keegan Bradley currently hold down the Nos. 49 and 50 spots, respectively, after sweating out the bubble for most of the day. Eric Cole and Max Greyserman, Nos. 46 and 47 respectively, each carded a final-round 63 to move inside the top-50 number in emphatic fashion.

Behind Kim, Mackenzie Hughes and Maverick McNealy are projected Nos. 52 and 53 respectively. McNealy played his last three holes Sunday in 3 under (eagle-birdie-par) for a closing 6-under 64 and a T12 finish, but his spirited effort will fall just short.

5:30 p.m. ET: While the top of the leaderboard has descended into chaos, with Hideki Matsuyama surrendering a commanding lead with a 4-over stretch on Nos. 12-15, the top-50 bubble has stabilized somewhat. (Matsuyama, through 16 holes, now shares the lead at 15 under with Viktor Hovland, through 17, and Xander Schauffele, who is in the clubhouse.)

Nick Dunlap just made birdie at the par-5 16th, moving into a tie for fourth and projected No. 45 on the FedExCup. Dunlap, 20, took care of business at the short par 5 and now faces two demanding holes as he looks to cement a spot at next week's BMW Championship. One dropped shot would project him No. 48, while two dropped shots would project him No. 51.

If Dunlap were to drop two shots, the projected No. 50 spot (all else constant) would go to Tom Kim, who played his final three holes in 5 over (bogey-double bogey-double bogey) to fall on the wrong side of the current projected bubble.

4:50 p.m. ET: Nick Dunlap is meeting the moment.

The 20-year-old drained a 15-foot birdie at the par-4 13th to move into solo fourth place, and he now has a slight cushion on the top-50 bubble. Dunlap, who entered the week at No. 67 on the FedExCup, is now projected No. 39 on the FedExCup. With a bogey, he would project to No. 48, still inside the critical cutoff, but two dropped shots would push him to projected No. 54.

Water abounds on the back nine at TPC Southwind, and if Dunlap finishes inside the top 50 to advance to the BMW Championship and qualify for next year's Signature Events, it will be well earned.

4:45 p.m. ET: Justin Rose will not advance to the BMW Championship, while Seamus Power still has a chance for an unlikely move inside the top 50.

Needing a closing birdie for a chance at breaking inside the top 50, Rose hit his tee shot at the 72nd hole into a fairway bunker; his second shot hit the lip and only advanced some 20 yards, en route to bogey. Rose is now projected No. 55 on the FedExCup standings.

Meanwhile, Seamus Power rolled in a 9-foot birdie at the par-5 16th to move into a tie for ninth at TPC Southwind and on the precipice of the top 50. With a birdie-birdie finish, he would project No. 49. It's a tall task but a doable one for the Irishman, who narrowly qualified for the Playoffs at No. 66 on the FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List.

4:15 p.m. ET: Don't count out Justin Rose.

The wily veteran moved to projected No. 53 on the FedExCup with a birdie at the par-5 16th. One more birdie would project him into the critical 50th spot, one single point (!) ahead of Keegan Bradley. The 17th and 18th are no picnic, but Rose has earned a fighting chance. He entered the week at No. 55 on the FedExCup and is currently T17 for the tournament.

Meanwhile after a frustrating bogey at the par-4 10th, where he was in decent shape just short of the green in two after a heroic second shot around trees, Nick Dunlap has fallen back on the bubble. A two-time TOUR winner this season (no FedExCup points for his win at The American Express as an amateur), Dunlap entered the week at No. 67 in the FedExCup but came to play and is currently T4 on the leaderboard. He's projected No. 47 on the FedExCup, but one bogey would project him to No. 53. He's riding the line into the final few holes in Memphis.

3:50 p.m. ET: The top-50 bubble is beginning to crystallize, but some variance remains as the final groups reach the back nine at TPC Southwind.

2025 U.S. Team Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is currently hanging onto the projected No. 50 spot, after beginning the week at 39th on the FedExCup but struggling to a 1-over 281 total, near the bottom of the leaderboard. Bradley currently projects 17 points ahead of Tom Kim, who struggled to a gutting 6-6-6 finish (bogey-double-bogey-double bogey) to fall into a current T50 on the leaderboard and potentially outside a spot at next week's BMW Championship.

Maverick McNealy (projected No. 52) currently projects 10 points back of Kim, looking to fall just short after a spirited eagle-birdie-par finish Sunday for a 6-under 64.

After a final-round 63, Eric Cole (T17 this week) projects No. 47 on the FedExCup, followed by Max Greyserman (also on the strength of a closing 63) at projected No. 48. Despite a closing double bogey Sunday, Cam Davis is hanging onto the No. 49 spot and appears in good shape for now.

3:15 p.m. ET: Maverick McNealy gave it his all. Now he waits.

Riding the razor's edge of the bubble, McNealy saved par at the finishing hole after missing the fairway right off the tee and leaving his approach short of the green. He deftly lagged a 59-foot putt from the fringe to tap-in range, with the closing par good for a round of 6-under 64, one off the day's low score matched by Eric Cole and Max Greyserman.

McNealy was projected No. 50 on the FedExCup as he reached the hole, but he's now projected No. 51 after moving from a four-way T9 to a five-way T9, as Robert MacIntyre joined the tie at 9 under with a birdie at No. 11. That's how slim the current margins are.

Keegan Bradley is back into the projected No. 50 spot, eight points ahead of McNealy.

2:55 p.m. ET: Here comes Maverick McNealy!

The Stanford alum was three strokes outside the projected top 50 with three holes to play Sunday, but he just followed a bunker hole-out eagle at the par-5 16th with an 11-foot birdie at the par-5 17th. He's now T10 for the tournament and projected No. 50 on the FedExCup, just two points ahead of Keegan Bradley.

He heads to the par-4 18th, which has caused consternation for plenty of bubble characters Sunday.

2:35 p.m. ET: The leaders are on the course, with Hideki Matsuyama (through four holes) holding a four-shot lead over Nick Dunlap, but the central focus lies on the projected FedExCup standings, specifically the No. 50 spot. Pressure has mounted throughout the day, as evidenced by closing double bogeys by Cam Davis and Tom Kim that could cost them a trip to the BMW Championship and a spot in next year's Signature Events.

After completing a final-round 68 for a 1-over 281 total, Keegan Bradley (currently T59 this week) holds the projected No. 50 spot on the FedExCup. He's projected 19 points ahead of Kim for the final spot, with Kim currently T52 for the week. It is unlikely that Kim's leaderboard position could improve enough to pass Bradley, so Kim is likely reliant on other players currently on the course to lose ground, potentially one of Nick Dunlap, Viktor Hovland or Will Zalatoris.

2:10 p.m. ET: Tom Kim is the latest victim of TPC Southwind's par-4 18th hole, and it might cost him a place in next year's Signature Events.

After a bogey-double bogey stretch on Nos. 16 and 17, Kim tugged his tee shot into the water hazard left of the fairway en route to a double bogey. Kim dropped, played his 252-yard third shot to 38 yards short-right of the green, pitched to 8 feet and couldn't convert.

Kim is now projected No. 51 on the FedExCup, falling from projected No. 49 after the closing double bogey. The current beneficiary is Keegan Bradley, who assumes the projected No. 50 spot, 18 points ahead of Kim.

Players still on the course projected to surpass Kim this week include Viktor Hovland, Nick Dunlap, Denny McCarthy and Will Zalatoris. Things certainly look dicey for Kim at the moment, but he still has a realm of moving back inside the top 50.

1:50 p.m. ET: Things are getting dicey for Tom Kim, who was projected safely inside the top 50 until a stunning turn of events down the stretch. Kim made bogey at the short par-5 16th (from just 200 yards in the fairway for his second shot), followed by a double bogey at the par-4 17th. Kim entered the week at No. 43 on the FedExCup, stands T41 for the tournament and is projected No. 49 on the FedExCup as he reaches the 18th tee.

Players who finish the week outside the top 50 are not guaranteed access to Signature Events in 2025.

1:10 p.m. ET: The current bubble boy is Max Greyserman, holding down the all-important projected No. 50 spot, as he braces for a long afternoon of waiting on the margins.

Greyserman was projected No. 51 after concluding a final-round 63, jumping roughly 30 spots from T62 on the leaderboard, and he moved to projected No. 50 after Cam Davis' potentially costly double bogey at No. 18 (Davis is now projected No. 51).

Such was Greyserman's minimal faith in his chances of finishing inside the top 50, he had already canceled his flight to next week's BMW Championship, planning to return home to Florida. The PGA TOUR rookie began the week at No. 47 on the FedExCup but was projected outside the top 50 for most of the tournament, hindered by an opening-round 75. He battled back with rounds of 68-70-63, though, to give himself a fighting chance.

"Hit refresh a lot on the phone," Greyserman said afterward. "I mean, I already canceled my flight to Denver and booked a flight home to Florida. I’m going to have to wait and see, obviously. Hopefully it goes my way, but at the end of the day there’s nothing I can do. I kind of shot myself out of it after that first round and just tried to battle back, played pretty solid the last three days, did all I could. I wish I just didn’t have that bad of a first day."

1 p.m. ET: The twosome of Eric Cole and Cam Davis played the par-4 18th in a combined 3 over, and they're now in for a stressful afternoon on the bubble. Cole departed the green, though, with the more pleasant taste in his mouth.

After pulling his drive into the water hazard left of the 18th fairway, Cole laid up to 86 yards and got up and down with a 15-footer, punctuated by a sterling fist pump, to save bogey for a round of 7-under 63. Meanwhile Davis tugged his second shot from the right rough into the same hazard, left of the green, and failed to get up and down as his 14-foot bogey try slid by. Davis shot a final-round 67 despite the potentially devastating double bogey.

Cole, the reigning PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, entered the week at No. 54 on the FedExCup and is currently projected No. 49.

Davis, who made his Presidents Cup debut for the International Team in 2022, entered the week at No. 44 on the FedExCup and is currently projected No. 51.

12:15 p.m. ET: It's just past noon and the leaders aren't even on the course yet, but there's been plenty of action already.

Max Greyserman's late-season run continues. He finished runner-up in his last two starts before the Playoffs to arrive in Memphis at No. 47 in the FedExCup. The heartbreak of last week's Wyndham Championship -- where he lost a four-shot lead over the final five holes -- was contrasted by his strong finish seven days later. He shot 63 today to give himself a chance of making the BMW, holing a must-make 11-footer for par on the final hole. He's currently 51st in the projected standings, though, so he'll need some help.

Eric Cole also is making an early move Sunday. His birdie on 15, where he knocked a wedge stiff, moved him to 44th in the projected standings, 10 spots better than his position at the start of the week. Cole, the 2023 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, is 7 under through 15 today.