Signature Scroll: Top 50 time, previewing FedEx St. Jude Championship

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Top 50 time

This is the most important year to finish inside the top 50 of the FedExCup since the Signature Events model was introduced.

As the TOUR begins to shift its focus to the competitive changes coming in 2028, it can’t be overstated how important this FedEx St. Jude Championship could be for those hovering on either side of the top-50 bubble.

The postseason field will be trimmed from 70 to 50 after this week, and the 50 players who make it through to the BMW Championship will not only lock up spots in all of the 2027 Signature Events, but also they'll have a massive head start in qualifying for the 2028 PGA TOUR Championship Series, the elevated series of events in the TOUR’s new two-track model.

Let me explain.

While the exact criteria to qualify for the PGA TOUR Championship Series is still to be determined, it’s known that at least the top 90 from the previous year’s points list will remain on the elevated track. For the sake of this exercise, let’s say the TOUR settles on 90 as the cut-off point. And to get an idea of what that could mean, let’s use the current FedExCup standings as context.

Of the 50 players who made it to the BMW Championship in 2025 and secured automatic exemptions into this year’s Signature Events, only three – Lucas Glover, Jhonattan Vegas and Brian Campbell – are currently outside the top 90 in the FedExCup. Or, put another way, if the PGA TOUR Championship Series were starting in 2027, 94% of last year’s top 50 would have qualified for it.

Simply, ensuring your Signature Event starts next year is the easiest way to make sure you’re on the right side of history when the PGA TOUR undergoes its competitive structure change. And to do that, you must finish inside the top 50 of the FedExCup.

How’s that for stakes this week? Play well and keep your season alive, and you’ve not only set yourself up well for 2027, but you’ve done extraordinary legwork to ensure your future for 2028.

So, which big names are on the outside looking in? Here are a few and the minimum finish they would need to vault into the top 50:

• 52. Max Homa – two-way T25
• 53. Sungjae Im – two-way T24
• 54. Jordan Spieth – solo 23rd
• 62. Shane Lowry – two-way T11
• 70. Jackson Koivun – two-way T7

It also doesn’t help these chasers that, unlike in previous years, the FedExCup points in the Playoffs aren’t worth four times the regular amount. New this year, the points distribution is the same as Signature Events, THE PLAYERS Championship and major championships. That will make it harder to make significant moves up the standings. Typically, we see an average of 4.3 players move in/out during the FedEx St. Jude Championship. I’d expect that to be halved this week in Memphis.

Good luck, everyone! There’s a lot to gain (and lose) at TPC Southwind.

Playing through

• 📊 What do the players around the top-50 bubble need to make it to St. Louis? Here are the scenarios at play …
• 📺 The PGA TOUR play will air on ESPN linear programming for the first time. Here’s how to watch it on Thursday and Friday …
• ❓Who do the experts have this week in Memphis? Spoiler: There’s zero consensus …
• 🎥 Highly recommend this 30-minute Tommy Fleetwood documentary that my colleagues worked on. Really great access and insight into one of the most popular players in the sport ...

Who needs a good postseason?

We’ve reached the witching hour of the PGA TOUR calendar – the final dramatic weeks that offer the last chance at glory or redemption after a long season. Some are looking to cap off a great year, but the real pressure lies with those who haven’t met expectations and risk leaving a sour taste in their mouths for months until the 2027 season begins.

So who needs a good postseason the most? Here are a few candidates:

• Xander Schauffele: He hasn’t been the same since a rib injury early in 2025. Back then, he was a consensus top-three player in the world. Now, he’s just hanging around the top-10 discussion. He loves East Lake, and an emphatic victory to close the season would do wonders for his confidence and standing.
• Patrick Cantlay: Schauffele’s close friend has fallen even further. Cantlay is outside the top 40 in the world for the first time since 2017, back when he had never won before. He’s also 17th in Presidents Cup standings. He could be left off the U.S. Team if he can’t conjure better form to close the year. He’s been one of the best postseason performers in recent memory.
• Shane Lowry: His postseason might last only one week. At 62nd, he needs at least a two-way tie for 11th in Memphis to advance. He hasn’t finished better than 22nd since his runner-up at PGA National in February. He’s been out of sorts since that collapse and is outside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
• Ryo Hisatsune: a bit of a curveball here, but the 23-year-old is likely right on the bubble to make the International Team at the Presidents Cup. That would be the biggest stage of his career thus far, but he’s tailed off significantly in recent months. A solid postseason would lock up his spot.

Parting shots

• 👑 Scottie Scheffler is again pacing to be the only player to finish the season with a scoring average below 69. Scheffler’s 68.7 average is roughly three-quarters of a shot better than the next best this season.

• 🔥❄️ Michael Brennan’s shaky putter has kept him from racking up consistent results. But when he putts average or better, great things happen. He’s gained strokes on the greens in only seven PGA TOUR starts. His results in those performances: win-T28-T42-T6-T24-T15-win.
• 🤏 Three players made the Playoffs despite playing fewer than 12 starts: Rory McIlroy (11 starts, 12th in FedExCup), Alex Fitzpatrick (11 starts, 19th in FedExCup) and Koivun (five pro starts, 70th in FedExCup).
• 7️⃣ Sungjae Im holds one of the more underappreciated streaks on the PGA TOUR. He’s never missed the TOUR Championship, having made it to East Lake in all seven years of his career. He has work to do to keep it alive, currently 53rd in the FedExCup.
• 🏌️ Here are the five players with the best Strokes Gained track record at this event over the last five years: Fleetwood, J.J. Spaun, Bud Cauley, Im and Justin Thomas.