CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — The race to East Lake for the 2024 Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup Playoffs finale has come to an end for all but 30 golfers on the PGA Tour.
For every golfer who raised his stock and played his way into the finale meant someone on the flip side had to drop back below the cutline. In 2024, there were four such situations.
The biggest rise into the top 30 the 2024 BMW Championship winner, Keegan Bradley, up from No. 50 to No. 4. Two players suffered the biggest fall of eight spots the wrong way. The 2024 BMW ‘bubble boy’ failed to cling to a top-30 spot which means there’s a new ‘bubble boy’ for the Tour Championship, and that is Justin Thomas, who came into the week 22nd. His final-round 68 was enough to keep him in. Barely.
Thomas was on the plane ride home when he found out he made the Atlanta field.
‘I’m just going home. Going to go to Jupiter. There’s no need for me to sit here and stress this out all afternoon,’ he told reporters before leaving the golf course, feeling like he came up short. ‘It sucks, but it’s the position I put myself in. I’m happily just going to go home and get a couple nights at home and then hopefully head to Atlanta on Tuesday.’
Well, JT can now make those travel plans.
Before we get to those who fell short, a round of applause to those who played their way in:
Keegan Bradley, No. 50 to No. 4
Adam Scott, No. 41, to No. 14
Tommy Fleetwood, No. 31 to No. 22
Chris Kirk, No. 32 to No. 26
Among those falling short were a few of the game’s bigger names.
Here’s a closer look.
Brian Harman — No. 29 to No. 31
Brian Harman entered 29th but a two-spot drop was enough to keep him from advancing. He was hanging around all day and birdied Nos. 11, 13, 14 and 17 but his 18th hole was just brutal, as he found a fairway bunker off the tee, then flew his third shot over the green before two-putting for a double-bogey.
Jason Day — No. 25 to No 33
Jason Day was the lone golfer in the 2024 BMW field who competed in the last PGA Tour event at Castle Pines, the 2006 International. But this was a tough week for him. He arrived in the 25th spot but dropped seven slots to 32nd.
He had six birdies through 11 holes but he took a triple-bogey 8 on the 14th hole, then followed that up with a double on 15, sinking his chances.
Davis Thompson — No. 26 to No. 34
Davis Thompson was 26th in the points but slid nine spots to 35, bringing an end to his playoff run.
Denny McCarthy — No. 30 to No. 35
Denny McCarthy was the ‘bubble boy’ coming into the BMW, sitting in the 30th spot. But after a week of 71-74-69-72, he dropped five spots and will miss East Lake.
Other notables heading home
Will Zalatoris (No. 38)
Corey Conners (No. 39)
Max Homa (No. 46)
Nick Dunlap (No. 49)
2024 Tour Championship field
Scottie Scheffler
Xander Schauffele
Hideki Matsuyama
Keegan Bradley
Ludvig Aberg
Rory McIlroy
Collin Morikawa
Wyndham Clark
Sam Burns
Patrick Cantlay
Sungjae Im
Sahith Theegala
Shane Lowry
Adam Scott
Tony Finau
Byeong Hun An
Viktor Hovland
Russell Henley
Akshay Bhatia
Robert MacIntyre
Billy Horschel
Tommy Fleetwood
Sepp Straka
Matthieu Pavon
Taylor Pendrith
Chris Kirk
Tom Hoge
Aaron Rai
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Justin Thomas
