FedEx Cup Update: Tour cards, Playoffs and Wyndahm Rewards

The Wyndham Championship marked the final event of the regular season before the FedEx Cup playoffs: Find out who made it in to the playoffs, and who lost their tour cards 

To ensure a full-time job on the PGA Tour for next season players needed to finish inside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup Standings after the end of the Wyndham Championship, which marked the final event of the regular Tour season.

There was plenty on the line: At the top end the Wyndham Rewards – a monetary bonus for those that finished inside the top 10 of the FedEx Cup before heading in to the three final playoff events. At the bottom end – for those outside of the top 125 – the real possibility of losing their playing rights for next season.

J.T. Poston was one of the biggest movers of the week, going from 83rd to 27th with his victory at Sedgefield , but Alex Noren slipped from 125 to 129 to become one of a number of players left with conditional status or in need of heading to the Korn Ferry Tour finals in hope of retaining their cards. 

But for those who did finish inside the top 125 it’s on to the The Northern Trust. From there, the top 70 will advance to the BMW Championship, and top 30 will make it to the Tour Finals. 

Below, find out who moved their way in to the top 125, who lost their tour cards and who remains exempt.

Koepka tops Wyndham Rewards

Brooks Koepka didn’t even need his golf clubs at the weekend to win the $2 million bonus for topping the FedEx Cup standings after the Wyndham Championship. 

The $10million bonus prize fund was created this year to reward players for their season long performances, with second place finisher Rory McIlroy also earning a big sum ($1.5 million) without playing last week. 

In fact, the only person who did tee up at the Wyndham Championship who started the week inside the top 10 was Paul Casey, but a T13 finish wasn’t enough to move him out of 8th spot.

And while Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland, Patrick Cantlay and Dustin Johnson remained in their spots from third to seventh, there was one big change that left reigning FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose out of the prizes. 

It was all down to Webb Simpson, who followed up a T2 at the WGC FedEx St Jude with a runner-up finish at the Wyndham Championship for the second year in a row – but there was a silver lining to the disappointment.

Simpson had begun the week ranked 13th in the FedEx Cup standings, but pushed out Rose as he moved in to 9th and Jon Rahm fell back to 10th – ensuring he earned an extra bonus of $550,000 for finishing inside the top 10 at the end of the season long race. 

FedEx Cup Standings: Inside the top 125

Those inside the top 125 not only kept playing rights for next year but also earned their spots in the first of the FedEx Cup playoff events. 

Pat Perez missed the cut at the weekend but still managed to grab the final spot at 125th, while Andrew Landry’s T19 at the Wyndham moved him from 132nd to 123rd.

Patton Kizzire lay outside of the top 125 (he was 129) when he entered the week, and his goal was reaching the playoffs thanks to a win last year that ensures his exempt status until 2021. A final round 67 did just that, moving him up to 118 in the standings. 

“I’ve never missed the FedExCup Playoffs, so I certainly didn’t want to do that this year,” Kizzire said. “I felt like I had a lot to play for and really grinded. I wasn’t breathing real easy out there. There was a lot of trying going on, and it was a fight until the end. I feel pretty good about how I did.”

And though Landry and Kizzire were the only two players who moved in to the top 125 over the weekend, it means two players were knocked out of those spots: Robert Streb and Alex Noren.

The unlucky 126th place belonged to Richy Werenski.

FedEx Cup Playoffs: Who missed out but kept their cards

Despite missing the cut off mark for the top 125 in the FedEx Cup, there are still a number of players who will keep their cards thanks to previous Tour wins in the last few years or other circustamnces that allow exemptions.

Zach Johnson is one of the highest profile players to finish outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings this year, meaning he will miss the playoffs for the first time in his career. Luckily for him though, he still remains exempt for next year because of the five-year exemption he was granted for winning the 2015 Open. 

“Extreme disappointment,” said Johnson. “That’s about all I’ve got at this point is just extreme disappointment.

“I mean, I didn’t play as much as I typically do in the past, probably 3-5 tournaments less, but that’s just because of the season of life that I’m in. So there’s more opportunity when you play more, but that has nothing to do with my play.

“I’m trying to win golf tournaments. I don’t come here to top-25, or top-125 for FedEx,” Johnson said. “If I come here just to sustain, then I’m going to get lapped. I mean, I come here to win. Just didn’t have it this week, or this year.”

Other players who remain exempt include Austin Cook (130th), Jason Dufner (136th), Jimmy Walker (158th) and Brendan Steele (171st).

Notable names who lost their Tour cards 

After bowing out early at the Wyndham Championship, Martin Kaymer and Ollie Schniederjans were two of the more notable names left heading back to the three-event Korn Ferry Tour playoffs, but there was still plenty to battle for over the weekend.

In the end it was bad news for multiple European Tour winner and Ryder Cup star Alex Noren, who did occupy that last spot heading to the Wyndham but a T60 finish pushed him down to 129th. Behind him were Daniel Berger (131st), Peter Uihlein (133rd) and Bill Hass (140th), Harris English (149th) and Martin Kaymer (150th) – all of whom will be given conditional status for finishing inside the top 150, but will need to do well at the KFT Finals to improve their positions. 

Last year, Sangmoon Bae (205th), Hunter Mahan (184th) and Curtis Luck (175th) all earned their cards at the KFT finals but will all be heading back there once more. As will Sam Saunders – the grandson of Arnold Palmer – who finished ranked 173rd.

Elsewhere, former World No.1 Luke Donald (191st) also finished outside of the top 125, but still has three events left on his medical extension – and will likely be able to rely on career earnings to get spots in tournaments.

Viktor Hovland needed to join fellow youn stars Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff on the PGA Tour next season but a fourth place finish at the Wyndham wasn’t enough. Still, the reigning US Amateur Champion played well enough in his five Tour starts as a professional to qualify for the KFT Finals that begin in two weeks at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio.

“I feel like I’ve just playing better and better every single week, and obviously this is my best finish throughout the five tournaments that I played [as a pro],” the native of Oslo, Norway, said. “I’ve just got to keep it going in the Korn Ferry Finals, and I should be OK.”