70 One-liners: A look at every player in the BMW Championship
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The FedExCup Playoffs are back
Editor's note (Aug. 25): Webb Simpson withdrew from the BMW Championship.
After Dustin Johnson’s dominant win at THE NORTHERN TRUST, we’re on to the second stop in the FedExCup Playoffs. Johnson won by 11 shots at TPC Boston after becoming the first PGA TOUR player to reach 30 under par at a course other than Kapalua.
The top 70 in the FedExCup standings advanced to this week’s BMW Championship at historic Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago. There’s high stakes this week, as more than half the players will see their season come to an end.
After the BMW, the Playoffs field will be pared to 30 for the season finale, the TOUR Championship at Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club on Sept. 4-7. While the winner of the TOUR Championship also claims the FedExCup, the staggered-start format awards this season’s best performers with a head start on the leaderboard.
Before play gets underway at Olympia Fields, here’s a closer look at the 70 qualifiers for the BMW Championship.
Player | Comment |
1. Dustin Johnson | Has the most wins (5, tied with Rory), top-5s (11) and top-10s (19) in Playoffs history. |
2. Justin Thomas | Defending BMW champ is looking to regain his top spot in the standings. |
3. Webb Simpson | Enters BMW after a T3 at Wyndham and T6 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. |
4. Daniel Berger | Third-place finish in Boston was his 6th top-5 in his past 8 starts. |
5. Collin Morikawa | MC at NORTHERN TRUST was just the second of his pro career. |
6. Harris English | Was 149th in 2019 FedExCup, but headed to East Lake after runner-up in Boston. |
7. Bryson DeChambeau | Was absolutely dominant in 2015 U.S. Amateur victory at Olympia Fields. |
8. Sungjae Im | MC at NORTHERN TRUST but only fell three spots in the standings. |
9. Jon Rahm | Finished T6 at TPC Boston, his best finish since Memorial win. |
10. Patrick Reed | Winner of WGC-Mexico is seeking 7th straight TOUR Championship berth. |
11. Xander Schauffele | Won the TOUR Championship in 2017 and was runner-up last year. |
12. Rory McIlroy | Worse than 30th in 6 of 7 starts since the season restarted, including 0 top-10s. |
13. Brendon Todd | Won twice this season after 4 straight seasons outside the top 180 in the FedExCup. |
14. Scottie Scheffler | T4s at PGA and NORTHERN TRUST, including a 59, may have locked up Rookie of the Year. |
15. Lanto Griffin | Breakout season included a win at Houston Open and 11 other top-25s. |
16. Sebastián Muñoz | Sanderson Farms champ finished 117th and 153rd in previous 2 FedExCup seasons. |
17. Tyrrell Hatton | Arnold Palmer Invitational champ ranks 4th in SG: Approach-the-Green. |
18. Hideki Matsuyama | In 3-year winless drought, but has qualified for East Lake every year since 2014. |
19. Abraham Ancer | Rapid progression in 1st 3 FedExCup seasons, from 190th to 60th to 21st. |
20. Marc Leishman | 2017 BMW champ hasn’t finished better than T40 since the restart. |
21. Kevin Na | Seventh straight BMW start; has made East Lake in 4 of past 6 seasons. |
22. Ryan Palmer | Jumped 7 spots after T8 in Boston; seeking first start at East Lake since 2014. |
23. Kevin Kisner | Coming off consecutive top-5s at Wyndham (T3) and NORTHERN TRUST (T4). |
24. Viktor Hovland | Puerto Rico Open champ jumped 4 spots with his T18 at TPC Boston. |
25. Cameron Champ | Won at Olympia Fields in college and teamed with Scheffler in 2012 Jr. Ryder Cup there. |
26. Cameron Smith | He was +4 after 1st 2 holes of this year's Sony Open but still went on to win. |
27. Adam Long | Two runners-up this season were proof of increased consistency. |
28. Kevin Streelman | Two 2nds have him in position for first East Lake start since 2013. |
29. Tony Finau | Seeking 4th straight start at East Lake, but on the bubble after MC in Boston. |
30. Billy Horschel | Former FedExCup champ (and 2014 BMW champ) is the bubble boy for East Lake. |
31. Joaquin Niemann | Season's 1st FedExCup leader after Greenbrier win, but on outside looking in for East Lake. |
32. Tyler Duncan | Beat Webb in a playoff at this season's RSM Classic. |
33. Matthew Wolff | Big hitter has been contending more, including T4 at PGA and 2nd at Rocket Mortgage. |
34. Mark Hubbard | Moved up 8 spots thanks to his T29 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. |
35. Byeong Hun An | MC by 11 at TPC Boston to drop 4 spots in FedExCup. |
36. Mackenzie Hughes | Finished T13 at Boston to put first TOUR Championship start within reach. |
37. Patrick Cantlay | Fourth straight East Lake start is in jeopardy after MC. |
38. Adam Scott | Got his long-awaited Genesis win in February, but has played just 4 times since. |
39. Gary Woodland | Has made it to TOUR Championship in 7 of past 9 seasons. |
40. Nick Taylor | AT&T Pebble Beach winner missed the cut by 2 at TPC Boston. |
41. Joel Dahmen | Bogeys on 2 of final 4 holes led to a MC by 1 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. |
42. Danny Lee | Shot 73 on Sunday, but still finished T18 and moved up 11 spots. |
43. Tom Hoge | Having career year after missing Playoffs in 4 of his previous 5 seasons. |
44. Richy Werenski | Missed last year's Playoffs by 2 points but rebounded to get his 1st win at Barracuda. |
45. Brendan Steele | Qualified for BMW from 2015-18 before dropping to 171st in FedExCup last year. |
46. Brian Harman | Entered Playoffs at 69th but clinched BMW spot with 64 on Sunday. |
47. Alex Noren | Jumped 31 spots with T8 in Boston, his 3rd top-10 in his past 4 starts. |
48. Harry Higgs | Jumped from 72nd to 48th in standings after T11 at TPC Boston. |
49. Adam Hadwin | Started season with runner-up at Safeway and T4 at Shriners. |
50. Jason Day | Won 2015 BMW to ascend to World No. 1, but coming off MC in Boston. |
51. Michael Thompson | Victory at 3M Open was his 2nd on TOUR and first since 2013. |
52. Talor Gooch | Gooch, 28, is making BMW debut in 3rd PGA TOUR season. |
53. Andrew Landry | Won this year's American Express but has MC in more than half his starts. |
54. Corey Conners | In top 25 of both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Approach, but struggles with short game. |
55. Matt Kuchar | Has advanced to East Lake in 9 of last 10 seasons but has work to do to get back. |
56. Carlos Ortiz | All 3 top-10s came in the fall: T2 at Mayakoba and two T4s. |
57. Tiger Woods | Sunday 66 was promising but finished T58 in Boston. |
58. Bubba Watson | Had a chance to make big jump but Sunday 72 in Boston led to T18. |
59. Dylan Frittelli | Started season with T6 at Sanderson Farms and T7 at Safeway Open. |
60. Matthew Fitzpatrick | Shot 77-66 to MC in Boston while playing with Tiger. |
61. Russell Henley | Birdied 4 of final 7 holes at TPC Boston to finish T8 and jump 40 spots in standings. |
62. Robby Shelton | Played last 6 in -6 to shoot Sunday 63 and earn BMW berth. |
63. Jim Herman | MC at TPC Boston after surprising win at Wyndham Championship. |
64. Paul Casey | Streak of 5 straight East Lake appearances will come to an end without big BMW finish. |
65. J.T. Poston | Both of this season's top-10s were in the first 2 events of the Return to Golf. |
66. Jason Kokrak | Eagled 72nd hole at TPC Boston to get in BMW Championship. |
67. Maverick McNealy | Won Olympia Fields Intercollegiate in both 2014 and 2015. |
68. Max Homa | Bogeyed 36th hole in Boston to MC by 1 but still slipped into BMW. |
69. Charles Howell III | Like Kokrak, eagled 72nd hole at NORTHERN TRUST to get into BMW. |
70. Louis Oosthuizen | Nabbed the final BMW berth with birdie at final hole in Boston. |
Sean Martin manages PGATOUR.COM’s staff of writers as the Lead, Editorial. He covered all levels of competitive golf at Golfweek Magazine for seven years, including tournaments on four continents, before coming to the PGA TOUR in 2013. Follow Sean Martin on Twitter.