After his victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Monday, Webb Simpson is one of 21 golfers who likely have secured a place in the Tour Championship.
Simpson’s win, his second in three weeks, came in the second leg of the PGA Tour playoff and moved him to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup point standings. He is projected to be one of 30 golfers at East Lake Golf Club on Sept. 22-25 for the playoff ending event, with a $10 million prize at stake.
“To be at No. 1 in the FedEx Cup with two weeks to go, I couldn’t expect anything more,” Simpson told reporters. “You know, the goal for us is to be in the top five going into Atlanta, and it looks like I’m in a good position to do that, so I’m thrilled.”
The playoff field has been trimmed to 70 golfers who move on to the BMW Championship in two weeks. From that field the final 30 will be determined, but likely only nine spots are up for grabs, based on projections from last year’s point totals.
Here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from the Deutsche Bank Championship and what to watch for in the next three weeks:
Projected for Atlanta
In addition to Simpson, 20 players have all but secured a spot at the Tour Championship. According to projections provided by the PGA Tour, the following players are in: Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Luke Donald, Brandt Snedeker, Jason Day, Nick Watney, Steve Stricker, Chez Reavie, Phil Mickelson, Gary Woodland, Bubba Watson, Jonathan Byrd, Vijay Singh, K.J. Choi, Adam Scott, Mark Wilson, Hunter Mahan, Keegan Bradley, David Toms and Charles Howell III.
The top 5
Simpson moved to the top of the FedEx Cup point standings and holds an 897-point lead over Johnson. Rounding out the top five are Kuchar, Donald and Snedeker. Johnson held the No. 1 spot last week after his win at the playoff opening Barclays Championship.
Late dramatics
There were more final-round dramatics this week, and Ernie Els was right in the middle again. Els moved up 31 spots in the playoff standings, to 68th place, with a tie for 16th place, at 8 under, at the Deutsche Bank. Els needed a birdie on the 18th hole Monday to move into the top 70 and advance for the third consecutive week.
Els moved from 118th to 99th at last week’s Barclays Championship. The previous week at the Wyndham Championship, the final event of the regular season, Els began with a No. 126 ranking, with only the top 125 making the playoffs.
“It’s an opportunity to either call the year an end after the PGA [Championship], but then I thought, you know, after working a lot on my game, the things that I’m working on, I need to put it in play,” Els told reporters. “I need to feel it under pressure.
“There’s no better exercise than I have been through the last three weeks to really test your nerves, your game, your putting, your chipping, the driving. So I’ve been really under the gun, and I think it’s been good.”
Geoff Ogilvy also birdied No. 18 on Monday to move into 69th place and advance. Chris Stroud eagled the final hole to earn the final spot in the BMW Championship.
Biggest movers
Reavie moved up 78 spots, from 87th to ninth, with his playoff loss to Simpson. He bogeyed the final hole of regulation that cost him an outright victory.
Reavie was one of eight golfers to move inside the top 70 and live to play another week. He was joined by Blake Adams, Chad Campbell, Andres Romero, Johnson Wagner, Els, Ogilvy and Stroud.
Jim Furyk, the FedEx Cup defending champion, made the second biggest jump of the tournament, moving up 25 spots to 35th. Furyk was 70th in the standings the week before the start of the playoffs. He needs to move up only five spots to secure a return trip to Atlanta.
Biggest falls
The bubble burst for eight players who fell outside the top 70 and had their playoff run ended. They were Kevin Na, Kevin Steelman, Robert Garrigus, Pat Perez, Harrison Frazar, Charlie Wi, Anthony Kim and Kris Blanks.
Tommy Gainey dropped the greatest number of spots, falling 17 places to 54th. He will be around at least one more week.
Notables gone
Several notable players did not finish in the top 70 and their Tour Championship hopes ended. Davis Love III, Stewart Cink, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington are out.
Next up
The playoffs take a week off and resume with the BMW Championship, played at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, Ill., on Sept. 15-18.
About the Author
