FedExCup sleepers: The Golf Channel desk predicts who could play their way to East Lake
The BMW Championship marks the penultimate event of the FedExCup Playoffs. The top 70 players on the PGA Tour this season tee off at Wilmington Country Club this week for a chance to finish in the top 30 and earn a spot in next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
While the current top 30 play to keep their spots, Nos. 31-70 have to play their way in or go home. Here’s the GolfChannel.com staff picks for who could make a move this week.
Mercer Baggs: Cam Davis – Currently 51st
Wilmington Country Club is a big ballpark, stretching over 7,500 yards and playing to a par 71. Davis hits it plenty far – he’s 40th on Tour, averaging 307 yards a pop – and he’s playing well. The Aussie hasn’t finished worse than T-16 in his last five starts and was T-13 in the playoff opener to solidify a spot at the BMW. He needs a minimum finish of 14th this week in order to advance to East Lake, which seems right up his alley.
Patricia Duffy: Trey Mullinax – Currently 40th
After starting the year strong with a T-4 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, the 30-year-old notched his first-ever win on Tour at the Barbasol Championship. That win earned the Alabama product a spot in The Open, where he finished T-21. The FedEx St. Jude Championship marked his fourth-straight made cut after missing the weekend in more than 50% of his previous 2021-2022 starts. That T-5 finish at TPC Southwind pushed him to just within reach of the top 30 at No. 40. He must finish 30th or better this week to make it to Atlanta. Mullinax ranks 9th on Tour in average driving distance at 316.2 yards. Wilmington Country Club is long, straight, and made for ball-strikers like him.
Colby Powell: Taylor Moore – Currently 62nd
The PGA Tour rookie has advanced to the second playoff event thanks to top-six finishes at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Wyndham Championship to close the regular season. Moore finished T-31 at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, shooting rounds of 69-68 on the weekend, and has showed consistency with no missed cuts since The Memorial. He ranks 31st on Tour this season in birdie average and will need to make them in bunches to finish inside the top seven this week and advance to the Tour Championship.
Max Schreiber: Shane Lowry – Currently 37th
The Irishman has had several close calls this year, with runners-up at the Honda Classic, RBC Heritage and a T-3 at the Masters. However, his T-46 in the playoff opener dropped him outside the top 30. He’ll need at least a 38th-place finish to make the Tour Championship. At last year’s BMW, played at Caves Valley, a comparable course for Wilmington CC, Lowry placed T-26.