The FedExCup Playoffs are heating up, and the BMW Championship will determine which 30 players advance to the TOUR Championship at East Lake.
Find out which top golfers are on the bubble, including:
– Xander Schauffele: Can he overcome a trying year to extend his perfect TOUR Championship streak?
– Viktor Hovland: Will his elite iron play be enough to secure a spot despite inconsistent form?
– Rickie Fowler: What does he need to do to earn an extra year of membership and a chance at East Lake?
– Jason Day: Can the Australian regain his footing to make the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2018?
– Matt Fitzpatrick: Will his summer resurgence be enough to propel him into the top 30?
Watch to discover the minimum finishes required for each golfer to make the cut and analysis on what’s going wrong (and right) for these PGA TOUR stars.
Title: The Top Five. Who’s at risk of missing the Tour Championship PGA Tour by Paul Hodawanic. As the FedEx Cup playoffs progress, the stakes are higher than ever. With only 50 players left in the running for the FedEx Cup and 49 of them set to compete in this week’s BMW Championship after Sep Striker’s withdrawal. https/www.pgaour.com/article pgatour.com/article/2025/11/epstriker withdraws family matter BMW championship/top50 Caves Valley Golf Club the pressure is on but the real challenge lies ahead at the BMW Championship where only 30 players will advance to the season ending Tour Championship at East Lake. Who will make the cut and who will be left behind? Let’s take a closer look at the top players who are in danger of missing out on the top 30. One, Xander Chappelle, FedEx Cup position, 43rd. Minimum finish needed to make the tour championship solo 21st. Xander Shafelle, the world number three, has a history of dominating at East Lake. But this year, he may not even get the chance to compete. After winning his debut at East Lake in 2017, Shafley is currently outside the top 30 and will need to finish solo 21st or better at the BMW Championship to have a shot at extending his season. This is a stark contrast to his previous record where he has never missed the tour championship and has never finished outside the top 15 in the FedEx Cup. Sharley’s season has been marred by the lingering effects of a rib injury that delayed his start and derail his momentum after winning two majors in 2024. This has left him just a step or two below the level he’s consistently displayed over the last 5 years. The American has accumulated a career low in top 10s three and top 25s nine without truly contending at any point in the season. His best result was a T7 at the open champion. So what’s the reason behind his underperformance? Shalay regressed off the tea and on the greens this season after making great strides to become one of the top drivers in the game in 2024. Shalay ranks outside the top 100 in strokes gained off the tea in 2025. Losing strokes for the first time in his career in the metric. While some of these issues could be attributed to Shalay readjusting to his body post injury, the putting struggles are more puzzling. Shalay has been both anecdotally and statistically one of the best putters on tour since he earned his card in 2017. But he ranks 125th in putting this season. Below average driving and putting isn’t a recipe for success and it has Shalay fighting to keep his season alive. Despite his underwhelming form, Shalay remains a threat if he reaches East Lake. He has not finished outside the top five at the tour championship since 2018. And in the starting strokes era, Shafley twice finished with the low 72 hole score but did not win the FedEx Cup because he started too far back. Two, Victor Hovland, FedEx Cup position, 28th. Minimum finish needed to make the Tour Championship NA. Victor Hovland has shown flashes of brilliance this season, but his form hasn’t been consistent enough. He has only two top 10s this season, tied for the second fewest of any player still in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Though they were impactful results, winning the Valpar Championship and finishing third at the US Open. This inconsistency has put Havland on the tour championship bubble. While he could theoretically finish last at Caves Valley and still make it to East Lake, that scenario is highly unlikely with the increased point totals available. Havland is elite with his iron play. Ranking second on tour in SG approach this season. However, it’s the driver and putter that have limited his consistency. Hland has lost strokes to the field off the tea in five of his last six starts per data golf and spent much of the first half of the year as a below average putter. The Norwegian will be the first to admit that his game isn’t where he wants it to be. That Hovland has made it this far into the season despite that is a testament to his talent. His floor is incredibly high thanks to that ball striking ability. Even if other parts of his game are shaky, that’s helped him make the tour championship every year of his career. Can he do enough at the BMW championship to extend that streak another season? Three. Ricky Fowler, FedEx Cup position, 48th, minimum finish needed to make the Tour Championship solo 13th. Ricky Fowler is one of the players who is thrilled to find himself on the bubble. His spot in the BMW championship field was uncertain as he played the back nine of last week’s FedEx due championship. Fowler did enough to sneak into the top 50, finishing in a tie for sixth at TPC Southwind and will need a similar performance to play his way into East Lake. At minimum, Fowler must finish solo 13th or better at Caves Valley. He’s done that only twice this season. Fowler, once a regular at the Tour Championship, has only advanced to East Lake once since 2019. Importantly, reaching East Lake would also earn Fowler an extra year of membership through 2027. A significant perk for the 36-year-old who has struggled with year-to-year consistency. Four, Jason Day, FedEx Cup position, 44th. minimum finish needed to make the tour championship solo 20th. Jason Day is another player trying to secure his spot at East Lake, which has been elusive in recent years. Day has made the Tour Championship just once since 2018, battling injuries and slumping form. He has emerged as a consistent presence on tour, even if he hasn’t returned to the level that made him world number one earlier in his career. The Australians spent much of the year inside the top 30 of the FedEx Cup with a series of notable finishes along the way. He finished T3 at the American Express and added T8 finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the Masters. Another T4 at the Travelers Championship pushed him up the standings further, but a recent loss of form has his season in jeopardy. Day missed the cut at the John Deere Classic and the Open. The Englishman had four straight top eight finishes entering the playoffs, including back-to- back T4s at the Genesis Scottish Open and the Open Championship, though he snapped that run with a T32 last week at TPC Southwind. Fitzpatrick’s resurgence coincides with his recent partnership with coach Mark Blackburn, who has helped the former US Open winner regain his confidence. Fitzpatrick was outside the top 125 of the FedEx Cup midway through April before confiding in Blackburn. Fitzpatrick was in the mix at the RBC Heritage, one of the first events with Blackburn on his team, then finished T8 at the PGA Championship to begin the turnaround. It’s impressive that Fitzpatrick has made it this far given his start to the year, and he will need at least a two-way tie for 21st to keep his season alive. And this is the part most people miss. The FedEx Cup playoffs are not just about the top players, but also about the underdogs who are fighting to keep their seasons alive. Will these players rise to the occasion or will they fall short? Only time will