For PGA Tour players, being in the top 50 on the FedEx Cup Standings now means more than a spot at the BMW Championship.
Recently, the Tour’s board approved a revised schedule for 2024. This will result in fewer participants in designated events and the elimination of the 36-hole cut. The designated events fields will have between 70-78 players. They will largely be made up of the top 50 players who qualified for the BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup playoffs. This will add extra intrigue to the season-long race that was so desperately needed.
Golfweek was the first bubble watch that tracked top-50 movements after the Players Championship. It will be providing updates throughout the season. We are nearing the end of major season and with the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play behind, let’s take a look at the players currently participating in the designated events next year.
FedEx Cup Full standings
Bubble watch
The points standing after the 2023 WGC–Dell Technologies Match Play (where No. 40 Jordan Spieth (515 points) and No. 60 Sam Ryder (387 points) are separated by just a little over 100 points.
Player |
Current FedEx Cup ranking |
Previous FedEx Cup ranking |
FedEx Cup points |
Jordan Spieth | 40 | 38 | 501 |
Ben Taylor | 41 | 35 | 500 |
Danny Willett | 42 | 36 | 492 |
Davis Thompson | 43 | 41 | 487 |
Denny McCarthy | 44 | 40 | 480 |
Matt Wallace | 45 | 108 | 476 |
Sepp Straka | 46 | 43 | 473 |
Eric Cole | 47 | 42 | 468 |
J.J. Spaun | 48 | 59 | 449 |
Brandon Wu | 49 | 44 | 442 |
Keith Mitchell | 50 | 46 | 442 |
Joel Dahmen | 51 | 48 | 435 |
Patrick Rodgers | 52 | 47 | 434 |
Matthew NeSmith | 53 | 49 | 418 |
Alex Smalley | 54 | 50 | 407 |
Adam Hadwin | 55 | 56 | 405 |
David Lingmerth | 56 | 51 | 404 |
Maverick McNealy | 57 | 53 | 403 |
K.H. Lee | 58 | 54 | 401 |
Nico Echavarria | 59 | 55 | 388 |
Sam Ryder | 60 | 57 | 387 |
The biggest movers
Matt Wallace was the major mover of this week. He jumped 63 places into the top 50 following his win at 2023 Corales Puntacana Championship. The event took place opposite the WGC–Dell Technologies Match Play.
After his loss to Cameron Young (6 and 5), in the final match at Austin Country Club, Sam Burns moved 44 places inside the top 10. Young, despite the loss, took home $2.2 million and rose 50 places to No. 33 in the FedEx Cup Standings.
J.J. Spaun made it into the top 50 (48th), and moved 11 places into the designated zone after his Round of 16 appearance at Austin.
The top 50 most notable people
All the usual suspects, Max Homa, Jon Rahm and Players champion Scottie Scheffler, are Nos. The standings are 1-3 with Keegan Bradley at fourth and a newcomer at fifth. Kurt Kitayama broke into the top five thanks to his run to the Match Play quarterfinals.
Thomas Detry is swinging in his first full Tour season. He currently ranks 29th with five top 25s, two top 10s, and six top 25s in his first full season on Tour. Brandon Wu (49th), has shown some improvement in his second season. He now has three top 25s and two top 10s in 16 starts, as well as a T-2 at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Fans favorites Rickie Fowler (25) and Jason Day (17) are both in the top 25.
Notables beyond the top 50
Nos. 51 to 70.
Joel Dahmen (51), Patrick Rodgers (52) and Matthew NeSmith (53) have all been moved out of the top 50.
Justin Thomas currently ranks No. Justin Thomas is currently No. 63, but would still be eligible for the designated events because of his top-30 ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking (11th). Similar to Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama.
Others notable players who are not currently in the top 50 (rankings in parentheses).
- Matt Kuchar (66)
- Corey Conners (82)
- Shane Lowry (97).
- Billy Horschel (100).
- Webb Simpson (132)
- Adam Scott (137)
Although it’s still early in the season it is not as far as you might think. It’s still early enough for players to move up the standings. We’ll keep you posted on the top 50 stories for the remainder of the season.
By: Adam Woodard
Title: Top 50 bubble watch: PGA Tour players currently in and out of next year’s designated events
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/03/27/pga-tour-2023-fedex-cup-bubble-watch-wgc-match-play/
Published Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2023 15:35:00 +0000
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