FedExCup update: Chesson Hadley advances, makes ace at Wyndham

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Chesson Hadley was in his car, driving home to Raleigh, and the suspense was killing him.

RELATED:Updated official FedExCup standings

He had done everything he could do. The 62 he shot at Sedgefield on Sunday at the Wyndham Championship – that included his first ever hole-in-one -- had put him tantalizingly close to making the FedExCup Playoffs and locking up his card for another year.

But when he left the property, Hadley was still on the outside looking in, projected at No. 126. He had a plane ticket to Liberty National, where the FedExCup Playoffs begin Thursday, and another to Boise for the first event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

Finally, Hadley couldn’t stand it anymore. So, he called John Bush, one of the PGA TOUR’s media officials, and his timing couldn’t have been better.

Justin Rose had just missed a par putt of 5 feet, 4 inches on the 18th hole that handed Hadley the final spot in the Playoffs instead of him. Bush gave the phone to Tom Alter, the PGA TOUR’s Vice President of Editorial Development and Playoffs guru, to give Hadley the news.

As Alter put it, Hadley “screamed with delight.” It was the 6-foot-4 pro’s second celebration of the day, following what he called the “flying baby giraffe” leap into the air after the hole-in-one at the 16th hole that earned two million Wyndham Rewards points, split evenly between himself and Birdies for Backpacks.

“It’s unbelievable how every year it comes down to one shot,” Hadley had said after he signed his scorecard. “… I did all I could do. That I can be comfortable with. I can sleep good tonight.”

A little over an hour earlier, Hadley had fought back tears as he talked with CBS announcer Amanda Ballionis about what a difficult year it had been for him. He’d missed 14 cuts in 26 starts and let a four-shot lead slip away in the final round of the Palmetto Championship in a tie for second that still stings.

But by the time the former Georgia Tech All-American met with the rest of the media, the guy who said he was a “terrible crier” had turned philosophical.

“This game is so hard,” Hadley said. “People have no clue. I feel like I don’t have a clue how hard the NBA is. But people have no idea how hard it is to do what we do. The travel, everything because you can be doing all the right things, and I guess that’s life, you don’t get rewarded for it.

“Golf is the perfect representation of life. It’s been frustrating, and then you have days like today and it’s amazing.”

He had already planned to celebrate the ace with his wife by opening a bottle of Alpha Omega cabernet that he’d been saving for a special occasion. Who knows? Maybe they’d uncork two now.

“We have enough to where something good will warrant a nice bottle opening,” Hadley said. “But it’s been a while since -- we didn’t even open a nice bottle after Congaree because it didn’t feel like anything good happened there.”

Sunday, though, was a different story.

NOTES: Justin Rose, who was playing in Greensboro for the first time, had putts of 10, 14, 9 and 5 feet on the final four holes, respectively, that – had he made any one of them – would have changed the outcome. He would have been in the Playoffs instead of Hadley. Rose is fully exempt for the 2021-22 season but misses the Playoffs for the first time in the FedExCup era. … Alex Smalley, who played at Duke and is a member at Sedgefield, birdied his final four holes on Sunday. He finished with 109 FedExCup points as a non-member which puts him inside the top 200 and earns him entry into the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. “To have the opportunity to play a PGA TOUR event on your home course is pretty special,” he said. “I had some things coming into the week that some people may not have known about to try and get into the Korn Ferry Finals and it's very difficult not to think about it, but I think it helped me out quite a bit that I'm playing on my home course. I kind of know my way around. So to have that finish, yeah, it was pretty cool.” … Olympic silver medalist Rory Sabbatini fell short in his bid to get inside the top 125. He shot a 69 on Sunday and tied for 10th, which left him at No. 133. He has a career money exemption should he want to use it to secure his playing privileges for next season. … David Lingmerth and Kiradech Aphibarnrat both played their way into the top 200 and gained access to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

PLAYOFFS BUBBLE WATCH

Here are the players who moved in and out of the top 125 after play was completed on Sunday at Sedgefield Country Club.

MOVING IN

Scott Piercy (126 to 116) – For the second straight day, Piercy played the back nine at Sedgefield over par and ended up dropping from a tie for third into a share of 15th after a 69. But he still managed to move into the top 125 and make the Playoffs for the seventh straight year and 12th time in the last 13.

Roger Sloan (131 to 49) – Sloan closed with a 66 and was part of that six-man playoff at 15 under. As a result, he’s heading to Liberty National, making his second Playoffs appearance in five years on TOUR.

Chesson Hadley (132 to 125) – Hadley rode Sunday’s low round of 62 that included a 29 on the back nine, his first of the day, to a tie for 15th at 12 under. He’s back in the Playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

MOVING OUT

Ryan Armour (122 to 127) – Armour, who missed the cut by one, will have conditional status on TOUR next year, as well as access to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals that begin next week in Boise.

Patrick Rodgers (123 to 128) – Rogers also missed the cut by one. Like Armour, he’ll have conditional status on TOUR next year, as well as access to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

Bo Hoag (125 to 129) – Hoag came in as the bubble boy and missed the cut by one. Like Armour and Rodgers, he’ll have conditional status on TOUR next year, as well as access to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals