FedExCup wrap-up: Key moves; top 5; who's out?

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Sep. 14, 2009

The third leg of this year's PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup is complete, and the field is set for the final event. Here's a look at the essential FedExCup information coming out of the BMW Championship.
MORE PLAYOFFS: Current FedExCup standings I Survivors list | How the reset works

The Top Five

These players will control their own destiny at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in two weeks. If any of the five players wins at East Lake, he will win the FedExCup title:
Rank	Player	Previous TOUR Championships
1	Tiger Woods	Has two wins and three seconds in 11 starts
2	Steve Stricker	Making his sixth appearance; best finish was third in 1996
3	Jim Furyk	Making his 12th appearance; has finished second twice
4	Zach Johnson	Making his fourth appearance; tied for second in 2007
5	Heath Slocum	Tied for 17th in only prior appearance in 2007

THE TOP 30: For a quick look at each player who advanced to THE TOUR Championship, click here

Notable moves up

Tiger Woods	Started at 2	Moved to 1
Regained the top spot heading into East Lake with a dominant performance reminiscent of previous years. His third-round course-record 62 sent a message, but with the new FedExCup points structure, he hasn't locked up anything yet
Jim Furyk	Started at 18	Moved to 3
Clutch performance in tough conditions on Sunday puts Furyk in one of the coveted top-5 spots. He hasn't won on TOUR since 2007, but if he wins at East Lake, he claims the FedExCup
Sean O'Hair	Started at 16	Moved to 7
Significantly improved his chances of winning the FedExCup with a fourth-place finish at Cog Hill. O'Hair will be making his first trip to East Lake since 2005.
Sergio Garcia	Started at 55	Moved to 38
He didn't climb high enough to squeeze inside the top 30, but Garcia finishes the Playoffs on a nice note with a tie for sixth. He will miss THE TOUR Championship for just the third time this decade.

Notable moves down

Scott Verplank	Started at 5	Moved to 8
Dropping three spots may not seem like much, but because Verplank is no longer in the top five, he does not control his own destiny at East Lake.
Lucas Glover	Started at 14	Moved to 20
When the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup started, the U.S. Open champ was fifth in points. But he appears to have worn down from his heavy schedule. He was, however, one of the Captain's Picks for the Presidents Cup.
Y.E. Yang	Started at 15	Moved to 21
Coming into the Playoffs, Yang was a darkhorse Player of the Year candidate, having won twice on TOUR, including the PGA Championship. But he's made little noise in the last three weeks, and he has little momentum headed to East Lake.
Anthony Kim	Started at 34	Moved to 35
A year ago, Kim finished tied for third at East Lake, but he won't get a chance to do the same this year. He came to Cog Hill with a chance to move into the top 30, but 72-74 on the weekend had him going the wrong way.

Moving up and moving on

Two players at the BMW Championship jumped out of the "danger zone" of No. 31-70 on last week's FedExCup points list and into the field for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola:
Player	Previous rank	BMW finish	Current rank	Comment
Marc Leishman	67	T2	16	Four rounds in the 60s; making his bid for rookie of the year
Luke Donald	32	T10	28	Shaky on Sunday but gets to East Lake for first time since '06

Moving down and moving out

Two players at the BMW Championship fell backwards past the No. 30 spot and thus will not move on to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola:
Player	Previous rank	BMW finish	Current rank	Comment
Ian Poulter	30	T20	31	Bogey at 72nd hole proved costly; finished 0.460 points out of 30th
Charley Hoffman	28	T49	37	Failed to break par in any of his four rounds at Cog Hill

FedExCup notes

• In the first three Playoffs events, seven players moved from outside to inside the top 30 to qualify for THE TOUR Championship (Heath Slocum, Marc Leishman, Padraig Harrington, Scott Verplank, Jason Dufner, Ernie Els, John Senden)

• Correspondingly, seven players started within and were pushed out of the top 30 (Anthony Kim, Charley Hoffman, Tim Clark, Rory Sabbatini, John Rollins, Ryan Moore, Paul Casey)

• In 2008, nine players moved in/out of the top 30 in the first three Playoff events; two did so in 2007

• Marc Leishman played his way into the BMW at Deutsche Bank (93rd to 67th) and into THE TOUR Championship at BMW (67th to 16th) -- Compiled by Kin Lo

Players who were eliminated

A list of the 40 players who finished outside the top 30 in FedExCup points after the BMW Championship.
Previous rank	Player	BMW Champ. finish	Final rank
30	Ian Poulter	T20	31
41	Mark Wilson	T10	32
42	Brandt Snedeker	T10	33
35	Rory Sabbatini	T18	34
34	Anthony Kim	T18	35
33	Tim Clark	T30	36
28	Charley Hoffman	T61	37
55	Sergio Garcia	T6	38
31	Justin Leonard	T49	39
46	Matt Kuchar	T10	40
47	Bill Haas	T10	41
52	Camilo Villegas	T8	42
40	Robert Allenby	29	43
45	Kevin Sutherland	T23	44
39	John Rollins	T38	45
38	Pat Perez	T49	46
48	Ryan Moore	T30	47
37	Jason Day	T59	48
49	Charles Howell III	T30	49
54	Bo Van Pelt	T15	50
44	Davis Love III	T49	51
36	Paul Casey	WD	52
59	Bubba Watson	T15	53
43	Paul Goydos	67	54
63	Stephen Ames	T15	55
50	Charlie Wi	T38	56
56	Fredrik Jacobson	T30	57
53	Brian Davis	T45	58
70	Chad Campbell	T23	59
57	John Mallinger	T38	60
58	Ben Crane	T45	61
51	Webb Simpson	T61	62
65	Nathan Green	T53	63
66	Bryce Molder	T55	64
68	Woody Austin	T55	65
60	Jonathan Byrd	T61	66
61	Jeff Overton	T61	67
69	Jason Bohn	T59	68
62	J.B. Holmes	68	69
64	Bob Estes	WD	70th

Last man in

Wow, talk about an emotional finish. John Senden became the 30th and last qualifier for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, but he had to sweat it out at the end. Brandt Snedeker only needed bogey at the 72nd hole to secure the 30th spot, but he missed a 3-foot, 4-inch putt and eventually ended with triple bogey. That sends Senden, who was waiting by the scorer's table as Snedeker putted out, to East Lake for the first time in his eight-year career. For more on Senden, click here.