How each player could win the FedEx Cup
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The FedEx Cup ends after heading to it’s final stop for the Tour Championship at East Lake, with all 30 players in with a mathmateical chance of winning the season long-race
Any of the five players at the top of the rankings will be able to claim the FedEx Cup this week if they win the Tour Championship on Sunday – meaning Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas all have the best chance of winning the season long race.
Justin Thomas is the defending FedEx Cup champion, but it was Xander Schauffele who won the Tour Championship title last year to finish in third in the standings behind Jordan Spieth – who will be absent from the final event of the season for the first time after a disappointing final round at Aronimink left him one place out of qualifying.
From there it gets a little harder and more complicated for the rest of the 25 players in the field to claim the FedEx Cup, who would all have to win the title and hope the top five, six or seven players don’t finish high up the leaderboard.
For example, if Tiger Woods (who is 20th in the standings) were to win, he would have claim the Tour Championship and would also need DeChambeau to finish T15 or worse, Rose to finish in a three-way tie for 5th or worse, Finau to finish T3 or worse, DJ and Thomas to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse AND Keegan Bradley to finish T2 or worse.
Below, we explore how each of the 30 players in the field would be able to win the FedEx Cup this week.
How each player could win the FedEx Cup
Top 5: If they win, they win the FedEx Cup
#1: Bryson DeChambeau
– Could also likely win with a top-six finish
– Can finish as low as a T29 and still have a chance to win
#2: Justin Rose
– Has a reasonable chance of winning with a top-three finish
– Can finish as low as 9th and still have a chance to win
#3 Tony Finau
– Has a reasonable chance of winning with a T2 finish
– Can finish as low as a two-way tie for 3rd and still have a chance to win
#4: Dustin Johnson
– Has a reasonable chance of winning with a 2nd place finish
– Can finish as low as a three-way tie for 2nd and still have a chance to win
#5: Justin Thomas
– Can finish as low as a two-way tie for 2nd and still have a mathematical chance of winning
– Has a reasonable chance of winning with a 2nd place finish.
The rest of the top 30 would have to win AND hope other results fall their way
#6: Keegan Bradley
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T2 or worse
– Can finish 2nd and still have a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup
#7: Brooks Koepka
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T2 or worse
– Can finish 2nd and still have a mathematical chance of winning the FedExCup
#8: Bubba Watson
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish 3rd or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T2 or worse
#9: Billy Horschel
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 3rd or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish T2 or worse
#10: Cameron Smith
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 4th or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T3 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in T2 or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish 2nd* or worse
#11: Webb Simpson
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T6 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 3rd or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in T2 or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish T2 or worse
#12: Jason Day
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 6th or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish 4th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish T2 or worse
#13: Francesco Molinari
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T7 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish 4th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish 3rd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish T2 or worse
#14: Phil Mickelson
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T8 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T4 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish 3rd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish T2 or worse
#15: Patrick Reed
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T9 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T4 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish 3rd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#16: Patrick Cantlay
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T10 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T4 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish 3rd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#17: Rory McIlroy
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T11 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 4th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish T3 or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 6 needs to finishT2 or worse
#18: Xander Schauffele
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T12 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish 5th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish T3 or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#19: Tommy Fleetwood
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish thre-way for 13th or worse
– No. 2 needs to finishT5 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finishin a T3 or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#20: Tiger Woods
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T15 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish three-way for 5th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish T3 or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#21: Aaron Wise
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish three-way for 16th or worse
– No. 2 needs to finishthree-way for 5th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish T3 or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#22: Kevin Na
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T18 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T6 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish T3 or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#23: Rickie Fowler
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish three-way for 19th or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T6 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish T3 or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#24: Jon Rahm
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T21 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 6th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish two-way T3* or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#25: Kyle Stanley
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish T22 or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish 7th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 3rd worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
#26: Paul Casey
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish three-way for 23rd or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T7 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 3rd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 7 needs to finish T2 or worse
*Casey is currently a doubt after pulling out after the third round of the BMW Championship with a back injury – something he also struggled with back in May
#27: Hideki Matsuyama
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish 25th* or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish three-way for 7th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 3rd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 7 needs to finish T2 or worse
#28: Gary Woodland
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish two-way T26* or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T8 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 3rd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 7 needs to finish T2 or worse
#29: Marc Leishman
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish 28th* or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish three-way for 8th or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish in a three-way 3rd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish 3rd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 7 needs to finish T2 or worse
#30: Patton Kizzire
Needs to win the Tour Championship AND
– No. 1 needs to finish two-way T-29* or worse
– No. 2 needs to finish T9 or worse
– No. 3 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 3rd or worse
– No. 4 needs to finish 3rd or worse
– No. 5 needs to finish in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
– No. 6 needs to finish T2 or worse
– No. 7 needs to finish T2 or worse
