Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are guaranteed to be among the top 30 in the FedEx Cup, who will do battle for the Tour Championship and a $25 million bonus in Atlanta next week.
But there’s still a lot at stake in the final round of the BMW Championship in Denver today as the Irish duo jostle for position heading into the staggered start in Atlanta.
A host of players are battling simply to make it to East Lake but McIlroy and Lowry want to go there with a realistic chance of claiming that $25 million bonus.
Ranked fifth in the standings, McIlroy is projected to fall to sixth after he birdied his last two holes and carded a two-under 70 to go into the final round tied for ninth on five-under, seven shots behind bubble boy Keegan Bradley, who was the last man into the 50-strong field.
As things stand, McIlroy would start six shots behind FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler next week, but there’s still doubt over whether or not the Texan will remain No. 1 as Xander Schauffele bids to overtake him with a win tonight.
Lowry is tied for 18th at Castle Pines on four-under after shooting 70 yesterday.
He’d fall two spots to 13th and start his first Tour Championship seven shots behind the top-ranked player.
Every point will be hard fought today with Bradley out in front on 12-under after making eight birdies and six bogeys in a rollercoaster 70 that left him two clear of Adam Scott, who struggled to a 74.
“It was tough out there today,” Bradley said. “It was really windy, a lot of elevated tees that were into the wind, which makes it really tough.
“Proud of the way I fought today. I played some brilliant golf, but I hit also some terrible shots, too. I guess that’s the way of the world.”
Bradley would jump from 50th to fourth with a win, but the US Ryder Cup captain could also promote himself from assistant Presidents Cup captain to player in Montreal next month by grabbing one of the six automatic spots on Jim Furyk’s team.
Swedes Ludvig Aberg and Alex Noren are just two shots behind Bradley in third on 10-under as they bid for their first wins this year.
But Schauffele, the PGA and Open champion, is lurking just five off the lead in fifth alongside hometown hero Wyndham Clark as he chases a win that would see him overtake Scheffler (35th on one-over) at the top of the FedexCup standings.
If Scheffler finishes outside the top four, Schauffele would leapfrog him with a win, and he has a chance after carding a five-under 67 last night.
“I mean, it would be hard to,” Schauffele said of the prospect of heading to East Lake as number one. “I’d have to win, and Scottie would have to do something he’s never really done.
“I think if you’re in really good form going into East Lake and playing good golf, you can kind of, I believe at least; I tried to chase down Hovy last year and came up well short, but it was kind of dicey for a little bit, and I was much further back than I’m going to go in this year.”
Just making the top 30 who qualify for Atlanta is the task now for Brian Harman (28th), Tommy Fleetwood (29th), Justin Thomas (31st), Jason Day (32nd) or even Noren (45th), who needs to finish tied 14th to progress.
“I’m sure [the FedExCup] will play a part in [the drama],” Fleetwood said. “I would love to make it to the Tour Championship.”