OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The race to East Lake is heating up this week at Caves Valley Golf Club. By end of week 20 golfers will have their seasons come to an end. On Thursday, three golfers made their move to be projected into the top 30. Let’s take a closer look at who’s projected to move in and move out of the FedEx Cup Playoffs after the first round of the BMW Championship.
Who’s up in the FedEx Playoffs standings?Rickie Fowler
Fowler shot 3-under 67 and sits T-4, two off the lead, and continued his hot play after sneaking into the BMW. He finished T-6 last week in Memphis to climb from No. 64 to No. 48. His five birdie round has him jumping to No. 26 and getting back to East Lake after missing last year.
Rickie Fowler plays his shot from the fifth tee during the first round of the 2025 BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club.
“Nice solid start. That’s really all I wanted out of a Thursday,” Fowler said. “I know what I need to do. I need to have a solid finish and play well, but if we can keep continuing what we’ve been doing, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
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Michael Kim
Kim, the former Cal Bears golfer, shot 2-under 68. His swing coach, Sean Foley, who he described as his life coach too, gave him this tagline to live by this week: grateful but not satisfied. “That’s kind of the approach I’m taking this week,” Kim said.
He is projected to move from No. 40 to No. 28, which would be good enough for his first trip to East Lake.
“Tour Championship I feel like is the No. 1 goal on everyone’s mind at the start of the year, along with top 50 here. To be completely honest, I was probably – if you had told me I’d be top 50, I would have just signed right there and just watched everyone else play,” Kim said. “But once I had a really good stretch in that beginning to the middle part of the season, I really wanted to make the push for the Tour Championship, which I’ve never been to.”
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Now that goal is within reach.
Jason Day
The Aussie Day had a terrific day going until he finished with a pair of bogeys. That still was good enough for 2-under 68 and he’s projected to vault from No. 44 to No. 29.
Day was pleased with his start, given that he has two missed cuts and a T-56 in the 69-man field in Memphis last week to show for his last three starts.
Jason Day walks from the fifth tee during the first round of the 2025 BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club.
“Been trying to find my game, really, to be honest. I haven’t been happy with my hitting. I’m trying to find a solution for that. Short game has been scratchy at best, and putting has been scratchy. The only thing that’s really shown out a little bit has been my driving,” he said. “But that’s golf, man.”
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How much is he thinking about making it to Atlanta?
“It is on my mind but not really. Obviously I’ve just got to play well. If I don’t play well, then I’m going home. There’s no in between,” he said. “It’s either I’m in East Lake or I’m out, and my playoffs are done.”
Who’s down in the FedEx Playoffs standings?Jacob Bridgeman
It’s been a terrific season for Bridgeman, the former Clemson Tiger, but he shot 74 on Thursday. He ranked 45th in SG: Off the Tee and 43rd in SG: Putting – not a good combo. He is projected to fall from No. 27 to No. 32.
Akshay Bhatia
One week after opening with 62 in Memphis, Bhatia stumbled to a 5-over 75. He made just one birdie. He ranked 48th in SG: Tee to Green, losing nearly four strokes to the field, and 47th in SG: Around the Green. He could ill afford a bad start, which has him projected to drop from No. 29 to No. 35.
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Lucas Glover
Glover tripled the second hole but actually birdied the ninth to get back to even for the day. The second nine didn’t go his way. He made five bogeys in a six-hole stretch starting at No. 11 and signed for 75. He started the week as the Bubble Boy at No. 30 and is projected to fall to No. 40. Glover’s putter let him down. He ranked 47 out of 49 in the field in SG: Putting, losing more than 2 ½ strokes to the field.
Who’s on the bubble in the FedEx Playoffs standings?Chris Gotterup
Gotterup garnered some Ryder Cup hopes of his own with his strong month of July but his game has cooled off so far in the playoffs. He shot 3-over 73, hitting just 4 of 14 fairways, which ranked last in the field. He did make an eagle at 16 but he’s projected to tumble from No. 26 to No. 3o but only by 2 points. He’s taken over the role of “Bubble Boy.”
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Harry Hall
The Englishman Hall is making a run for the Ryder Cup let alone the FedEx Cup. Hall started the week at No. 45 in the season-long standings and is projected to climb to No. 31 and be the odd man out.
Hall should be given serious Ryder Cup consideration for Team Europe as few golfers have been playing better than him: 41 of his last 45 rounds have been at par or better. Hall has four top 10s and 13 top 25s on the season. He’s among the best putters on Tour and his game has never been better. Making it to East Lake would make a good impression on European Captain Luke Donald.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: FedEx Cup Playoffs standings: Who’s up, who’s down after 18 holes BMW
