FedExCup update: Max Greyserman plays boldly at 3M Open, moves into projected Playoffs spot

Protect the money and the points, or play for the trophy?

It’s a question asked weekly on the PGA TOUR, sometimes in dramatic ways. TOUR rookie Max Greyserman was faced with this decision on the 72nd hole of the 3M Open. The New Jersey native tugged his tee shot well left of the fairway at TPC Twin Cities’ water-infested finishing hole; after a drop, he had 256 yards to the hole with a gap between trees, but he needed to hit a low hook under tree branches and carry the water hazard protecting the green’s entire front side. He knew a birdie was crucial to his chances at the 3M Open title, but after entering the week at No. 88 on the FedExCup standings, a bogey or worse could have ultimately kept him outside the FedExCup Playoffs.

Greyserman went for broke and executed, playing a majestic 4-iron through the gap that cleared the water hazard and set up a two-putt birdie from 79 feet to post the clubhouse lead, 16-under 268. The 29-year-old ultimately finished solo second when Vegas also made birdie at No. 18 for a one-shot win, but Greyserman issued a statement with his bold play in closing time: He’s not afraid to go for it all.

The bonus: He jumped 25 spots to No. 63 on the FedExCup standings with just one event remaining in the FedExCup Regular Season. The top 70 after the Wyndham Championship will qualify for the first of three Playoffs events, the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

TPC Twin Cities designer Arnold Palmer famously believed that “you must play boldly to win.” Although he didn’t win the 3M Open trophy itself, Greyserman delivered on the mandate.

“I asked my caddie, like, ‘What do we do here?’” Greyserman said afterward. “He said, like, ‘Let's go for it.’ At this point you've got to go for it because trying to win. So picked the gap in the right side of the trees, had to draw it, obviously starting over the water and draw it back towards the flag. Played the safe shot and overdrew it and just had to hit a nice hard draw under the trees, 246 front. I didn't even know what the pin was, I knew I had to at least carry it 246.

“At that point in the tournament you've just got to go for it, so I just went for it.”

It had been a steady rookie campaign for Greyserman, who earned his card via the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2023 season-long standings. He arrived in the Land of 10,000 Lakes on a streak of five made cuts, all finishing between 13th and 31st. He was on the precipice of Playoffs contention but needed something big to move inside the line. Mission accomplished.

Although he’s not mathematically secure of finishing inside the top 70, it’s very unlikely that eight players would pass him at the Wyndham. He said afterward that the make-or-break decision was influenced by his solid position on the FedExCup relative to the top-125 bubble (finalized after the FedExCup Fall) to maintain exempt membership for 2025. The way he saw it, he had less to lose.

“As a rookie, you want to get as many points as possible,” Greyserman said. “Sometimes you're thinking about second or third place, not just the win. I hit that in the water, I make bogey or something and all of a sudden I'm coughing up 100, 200 FedExCup points, a lot of money, stuff like that.

“At the end of the day we play to win, right, so that was the kind of the conversation. Maybe if that was the same situation in January at the start of my rookie year, maybe I would have thought about it differently. But … thankfully had enough points where I didn't really have to worry about it if I failed in that scenario, so … I feel like the risk-reward premium was good, so I went for it.”

Big-time stage, big-time execution.

Moving in

Max Greyserman (moved from No. 88 to No. 63)

Jhonattan Vegas (moved from No. 149 to No. 66): With his victory at the 3M Open, his first TOUR title since 2017, = Vegas jumped a substantial 83 spots on the season-long standings. He’s not yet secure for a Playoffs spot, but it’s a radical change in fortune for the Venezuelan who hadn’t recorded a top-10 finish on TOUR in more than two years. Vegas, 39, hasn’t finished inside the top 70 on the FedExCup since 2021 (he ranked No. 111 in 2022 and stood No. 187 before the Playoffs in 2023, ultimately finishing No. 194 on the FedExCup Fall). Not many would have tabbed Vegas as a likely contender this week, but his game was trending upward (T27 or better in each of his three prior starts), and sometimes things can coalesce quickly. “That’s the beauty of golf; that’s the beauty of the PGA TOUR,” Vegas said. “Any week can change your life forever, so just thankful the win came this week.”

Moving out

Davis Riley (moved from No. 69 to No. 71): Aside from his victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge, an emphatic five strokes clear of the field, it has been an uneven season for Riley, who is without a top-10 finish otherwise. He made the cut at the 3M Open but finished a distant T46 and fell outside the top-70 line with one event remaining to determine the Playoffs field. Riley will need to make the cut at the Wyndham, and perhaps more, to earn a Playoffs berth. He’s less than three points outside a Playoffs spot (a solo 70th at the Wyndham nets three points).

Luke List (moved from No. 70 to No. 74): List followed an opening 67 at the 3M Open with a disappointing second-round 76 to miss the cut by three shots. He’s now roughly 22 points outside a playoff spot, the equivalent of a 34th-place finish at the Wyndham.

Bubble boy

Victor Perez (moved from No. 67 to No. 70): The Frenchman did not compete at the 3M Open and fell three spots, setting the stage for a week on the bubble at the Wyndham. Perez earned dual membership on TOUR for this season as one of the top 10 finishers on the DP World Tour’s 2023 Race to Dubai, not otherwise exempt. His season to date is highlighted by third-place finishes at the Puerto Rico Open and RBC Canadian Open.

Big mover

Matt Kuchar (moved from No. 155 to No. 111): Kuchar is the only player to have made the FedExCup Playoffs in all 17 iterations, and his streak is certainly in jeopardy of ending after the Wyndham. But the resilient Kuchar stayed on the periphery of contention with a T3 finish at TPC Twin Cities, where he shared the lead with four holes remaining but was surpassed by Vegas’ birdies on Nos. 15 and 18 for the title (and by Greyserman’s birdie at 18 for second place). Kuchar needs a win at the Wyndham to qualify for the Playoffs (he’s 303 points outside the top 70, with a solo second at the Wyndham netting 300 points), but his form in Minnesota suggests it’s possible. “I'll be in Greensboro again with basically that on my mind,” he said, “trying to get in the top 70.”

Notables

With a tie for third, Maverick McNealy moved from No. 68 to No. 57 in the FedExCup, moving off the bubble to virtually secure a Playoffs berth. McNealy was sidelined for nearly five months last season as he rehabbed a shoulder injury and did not qualify for the Playoffs; he has finished inside the top 70 on the season-long standings in each full season as a TOUR member (2020, 2021 and 2022) … Kurt Kitayama moved from No. 78 to No. 73 on the FedExCup with a T6 finish at the 3M Open, punctuated by an eagle at the par-5 18th Sunday for a closing 66 … Andrew Putnam inched closer to the bubble with a T19 finish at TPC Twin Cities, rebounding from a third-round 75 with a closing 66. He moved from No. 74 to No. 72 on the FedExCup … K.H. Lee moved from No. 112 to No. 97 on the FedExCup with a tie for ninth at the 3M … Patrick Fishburn moved from No. 117 to No. 99 on the FedExCup with a tie for sixth in Minnesota, maintaining momentum from a third-place finish at the prior week’s Barracuda Championship.

The FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List is used to determine the 70-player FedExCup Playoffs starting field.