FedEx Cup Playoffs: 5 Players To Watch at BMW Championship

By Fred Altvater on Friday, September 5th 2014
FedEx Cup Playoffs: 5 Players To Watch at BMW Championship

Chris Kirk and Hunter Mahan have won the first two FedEx Cup playoff events. Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar and Jimmy Walker round out the top-five spots in the FedEx Cup and will try to enter the Tour Championship at East Lake with a chance to win the $10 million.

70 players are in the field this week at Cherry Hills, but there is only room for 30 next week at the Tour Championship.

Here are five players currently outside the Top 30 that need to move up this week and secure a spot in Atlanta.

In his 23 starts in 2014, 44-year-old Ernie Els missed six cuts and only posted three top-10 finishes throughout the year. He entered the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 91, but a T-5 finish at The Barclays moved him well up the standings. A T-50 in the Deutsche Bank Championship dropped him to No. 44 and he needs a high finish at Cherry Hills to move on to the Tour Championship.

Graeme McDowell is ranked No. 16 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but is No. 40 in the FedEx Cup. He entered The Barclays at No. 41 in the FedEx Cup standings and a T-38 at Ridgewood Country Club moved him up to No. 40.

McDowell’s wife delivered their first child last week and GMac did not play in the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston. He fell to No. 53 and will need a good finish to move inside the Top 30 to earn extra diaper money.

2013 FedEx Cup winner, Henrik Stenson only missed one cut in 2014, but also only had three top-10 finishes. He entered the playoffs at No. 67 and may be getting hot at just the right time.

He has improved to No. 55 in the FedEx Cup ranking after a T-38 at The Barclays and T-26 at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He wants to make it to East Lake for the Tour Championship, but will need a very high finish to get there.

Phil Mickelson had one of his poorest years on tour in 2014 with only one top-10 finish. He finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship and entered the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 42.

After missing the 54-hole cut at The Barclays, he fell to No. 57. He finished T-45 at the Deutsche Bank Championship and is No. 56 heading to the BMW Championship.

Mickelson needs a big finish to salvage an otherwise lost year. With Tiger Woods out nursing his sore back, NBC is also rooting for golf’s other marquee name to make it to East Lake to boost ratings.

Golf Boy Ben Crane struggled with injuries all year, but is trying to make a push at the end of the year. He missed seven cuts this season and is No 109 in the world.  

Crane won the FedEx St. Jude Classic in June, but was forced to withdraw from both the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship.

He entered the playoffs at No. 60, but missed the cut at The Barclays and fell to No. 78. A T-29 at the Deutsche Bank Championship moved him just inside the top-70 to No. 69.

Crane will certainly need to finish inside the Top Five to continue in the playoffs. Even though he is known for his antics on Youtube.com, he is a very good player and the thin air in Denver will help add distance to his long game.

A chance to win the $10 million FedEx Cup or just a larger chunk of the $35 million bonus pool makes every stroke important in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Who will keep their hopes alive to hoist the FedEx Cup next week at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta? 

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