FedEx Cup Bubble Watch: Finishes Needed at BMW Championship for Notables Outside Top 30

This is the final chance.

For players outside the top 50 in FedEx Cup points entering the BMW Championship at Caves Valley, the penultimate event of the PGA Tour season, the goal is to secure a spot in the top 30 and advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake.

And several notable names are looking to make a jump.

The first man out at No. 31 is currently Sam Stevens. In 26 starts this year, he has two runner-ups and a solo third, along with nine top 25s. Following him on the list is Ryan Gerard, who has four top 10s in 25 starts, including his maiden win at the Barracuda Championship last month.

Other Tour winners from this season outside the top 30 are No. 34 Ryan Fox (Myrtle Beach Classic, RBC Canadian Open), No. 36 Thomas Detry (WM Phoenix Open), No. 37 Kurt Kitayama (3M Open) and No. 39 Brian Campbell (Mexico Open, John Deere Classic).

Kitayama was one of five players who leaped inside the top 50 at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, along with No. 46 Bud Cauley, No. 48 Rickie Fowler, No. 49 Jhonattan Vegas and No. 50 J.T. Poston. Vegas hasn’t made the Tour Championship since 2017; Poston since 2022; Fowler since 2023, while Kitayama and Cauley, who didn’t play on Tour for several years after a car accident in 2018, have never made it to East Lake.

Then, there are major champions Matt Fitzpatrick (No. 40), Xander Schauffele (No. 43) and Jason Day (No. 44), all of whom will need strong finishes at the BMW Championship to extend their season. A year removed from winning two major championships, Schauffele has never missed the Tour Championship. This year, however, he was sidelined for nearly two months at the beginning of the season due to a rib injury.

Here are the minimum finishes the 20 players outside the top 30 will need at the BMW Championship to keep their season alive:

31. Sam Stevens: two-way T40

32. Ryan Gerard: solo 39th

33. Daniel Berger: three-way T33

34. Ryan Fox: solo 30th

35. Taylor Pendrith: two-way T28

36. Thomas Detry: two-way T27

37. Kurt Kitayama: solo 24th

38. Denny McCarthy: solo 24th

39. Brian Campbell: three-way T23

40. Matt Fitzpatrick: two-way T21

41. Si Woo Kim: two-way T21