Justin Rose, John Senden and Geoff Ogilvy made the biggest moves with the biggest stakes on the line.
The three added their names to the final list of players to qualify for the upcoming Tour Championship with top three finishes on Sunday at the BMW Championship in Lemont, Ill. They earned their way into the 30-player field for the final leg of the PGA Tour playoffs, which will be played at East Lake Golf Club beginning Thursday. On the line is the FedEx Cup and a $10 million first prize.
Rose won the BMW Championship at 13 under par to jump 31 spots to third overall in the point standings.
“Three is a great number for me,” said Rose, who posted his third career tour victory, at his post-tournament news conference. “To win my third tournament, it feels like I’m moving in the right direction. To move into third place in the FedEx Cup and to control my own destiny at the Tour Championship is something I didn’t foresee at the beginning of the week.”
Senden finished second to make the biggest tournament jump, moving up 46 spots to ninth place. Ogilvy’s third-place finish was good for 45 places and the 24th spot in the standings.
The top five players, who control their fate at the Tour Championship, are Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Rose, Luke Donald and Matt Kuchar. While all 30 players at East Lake have a mathematical chance at winning the playoff title, the top five are guaranteed the championship with a victory this week.
With nine spots in the final event available this week, six other players advanced to Atlanta. PGA Championship runner-up Jason Dufner, Bill Haas, Aaron Baddeley, Y.E. Yang, Fredrik Jacobson and Bo Van Pelt also finished in the top 30.
Falling out of the top 30 after the BMW Championship were former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, Kyle Stanley and Rory Sabbatini. All three were in position to move on to the Tour Championship.
Defending FedEx Cup champion Jim Furyk failed to qualify. Furyk fell one spot and ended up 36th in the point standings. Other notable players who failed to qualify for the Tour Championship were Zach Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and Camilo Villegas.
"Not my best day, and I’m disappointed I won’t be at the TOUR Championship," Furyk told reporters. "I probably didn’t need to play that well today; probably shooting 1- or 2-over par would have gotten me in. So thinking about it that way, it’s disappointing."
Villegas’ remarkable playoff run came to a disappointing end. He barely made the playoffs, entering in the final 125th spot. He moved to 109th, and then 47th entering the BMW Championship. At one point on Sunday, Villegas was at 28th in the projected point standings but faltered down the stretch and finished 37th.
The field
1. Webb Simpson
2. Dustin Johnson
3. Justin Rose
4. Luke Donald
5. Matt Kuchar
6. Brandt Snedeker
7. Nick Watney
8. Chez Reavie
9. John Senden
10. Jason Day
11. Gary Woodland
12. Steve Stricker
13. K.J. Choi
14. Phil Mickelson
15. Mark Wilson
16. David Toms
17. Jonathan Byrd
18. Bubba Watson
19. Adam Scott
20. Keegan Bradley
21. Hunter Mahan
22. Jason Dufner
23. Vijay Singh
24. Geoff Ogilvy
25. Bill Haas
26. Charles Howell III
27. Aaron Baddeley
28. Y.E. Yang
29. Fredrik Jacobson
30. Bo Van Pelt
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