FedExCup Final 30 preview: No. 17 Brian Gay

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Sep. 17, 2009

The top 30 players in FedExCup points have advanced to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and now have a chance to win the FedExCup. Here's a detailed look at each player and how he made it to East Lake:
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Season in review

BRIAN GAY: 17th in FedExCup points (360 after reset)
Brian Gay's top-20 standing heading into THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola is thanks in large part to the two victories he posted this season. At the Verizon Heritage, Gay ran away with the title and moved to No. 7 in the Regular Season FedExCup standings. Less than two months later, he won again, at the St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx, his third PGA TOUR career victory. He climbed to No. 4 in the FedExCup standings. Gay has recorded two additional top-10 finishes this season: Ties for fifth at the Sony Open in Hawaii and sixth at the FBR Open. Gay's best finish in the PGA TOUR Playoffs thus far is a tie for 12th at The Barclays. In 2008, he missed making the 30-player field by six spots. In 2007, he did not advance past the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Quick analysis

Not making the U.S. Presidents Cup Team was admittedly a disappointment, but Gay's first two-win season has landed him in THE TOUR Championship for the first time. Both those victories came in dominating fashion, too -- Gay won the Verizon Heritage by 10 strokes and, four starts later, captured the St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx by five. -- Helen Ross

How Gay got here

Breaking down the FedExCup points won and rank after each start in 2009

Rank	Change in rank	Tournament	Finish	Points earned	Points for year	Points behind
17	-4	BMW Championship	T55	72.5	1,989	5,207
13	-5	Deutsche Bank Championship	T54	72.5	1,916	3,689
8	1	The Barclays	T12	303.333	1,844	2,537
9	-1	PGA Championship	CUT	0	1,540	1,891
8	-2	World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational	79	0.82	1,540	1,561
6	2	Buick Open	T37	30	1,540	1,011
8	-1	British Open Championship	CUT	0	1,510	549
7	-1	Travelers Championship	T26	41.5	1,510	364
6	-2	U.S. Open Championship	CUT	0	1,468	148
4	6	St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx	1	500	1,468	141
10	2	Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial	T27	41	968	630
12	-2	HP Byron Nelson Championship	CUT	0	927	598
10	-3	THE PLAYERS Championship	W/D	0	927	504
7	18	Verizon Heritage	1	500	927	423
25	1	Shell Houston Open	T26	43	427	863
26	0	Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard	T40	27.5	384	820
26	-6	Transitions Championship	T46	22.5	357	847
20	0	The Honda Classic	T52	15	334	842
20	-1	Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun	T20	23.75	319	857
19	-10	Northern Trust Open	CUT	0	295	421
9	0	FBR Open	T6	88.75	295	352
9	-1	The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer	T19	49.5	207	382
8	10	Sony Open in Hawaii	T5	105	157	432
18	0	Mercedes-Benz Championship	T18	52	52	448