Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry and Adam Scott are among the big names fighting to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs; Watch live coverage of the Wyndham Championship, starting on Thursday from 7pm on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 3 August 2023 12:12, UK
Former world No 1s, major champions and Ryder Cup superstars are among the players facing a battle to extend their PGA Tour seasons this week at the Wyndham Championship.
Only the top 70 players in the FedExCup standings after this week's event at Sedgefield Country Club will progress to the season-ending playoffs and be exempt into all full-field PGA Tour events for the following year.
Justin Thomas has never failed to reach the playoffs in his PGA Tour career and has qualified for the Tour Championship seven seasons running, but he lies 79th after missing the cut in five of his last seven worldwide starts.
Thomas suffered an early exit at the 3M Open last week, a last-minute addition to his schedule to try and produce an upturn in results and enhance his hopes of being selected for USA's Ryder Cup team this September.
Shane Lowry returns to action for the first time since missing the cut at The Open, with the Irishman currently 76th in the FedExCup standings and looking to make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
Matt Kuchar and Adam Scott are the only players to have qualified for every edition of the FedExCup playoffs since they were introduced in 2007, although the latter faces a battle to extend that streak and comes into the week 81st in the standings.
Former Masters champion Danny Willett (83rd) and compatriot Matt Wallace (80th) are both trying to break into the top 70, along with 2019 US Open winner Gary Woodland (97th) and Ryder Cup hopeful Alex Noren (102nd).
Elsewhere, 'Full Swing' favourite Joel Dahmen (82nd) is currently on the outside looking in, as is Englishman Callum Tarren (88th) and 2014 FedExCup champion Billy Horschel (117th), who is currently some near 50 spots off the pace.
Lowry feels he might be "owed" a little good luck in the FedExCup playoffs as he battles to qualify.
The former Open champion needs to climb inside the top 70 in the standings at the Wyndham Championship after the field for next week's first play-off event was reduced from 125.
"It's funny, I feel like I've been in situations like this quite a bit over the last number of years," Lowry said. "I missed out on the Tour Championship by one spot last year, by two shots in 2019. I remember playing here one year, I'd been told I needed a top 10 to get to the play-offs, I finished seventh and I missed out by one point. So, I feel like the playoffs nearly owe me one at this stage, so that's what I'm trying to tell myself this year.
"I feel like I've been playing some pretty good golf most of the year. I'm coming off the back of a pretty bad week at The Open, which I was very disappointed with, but I had a nice holiday with my family last week to kind of regroup and hopefully get going again this week."
The top 70 in the FedExCup standings after the event will progress to the FedEx St Jude Invitational, beginning on August 10, with the top 50 after that tournament then progressing to the BMW Championship the following week.
Only the top 50 in the standings at the end of the season are fully exempt in 2024, including the designated events, while those who finish 51st to 70th will have their PGA Tour status secured for next season but are not at that stage guaranteed entry into the designated events.
The players ranked 51 and below will carry their FedExCup points from the regular season and first FedExCup Playoff and continue to accumulate points during the 'FedExCup fall', with the top 125 in the standings at the end of 2023 then exempt for the full-field events for the 2024 season.
Watch the Wyndham Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage from the opening round begins on Thursday from 1pm via the red button on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 7pm. Stream the PGA Tour with NOW.
