7 Big Names To Miss The Tour Championship

The conclusion of the BMW Championship saw the number of players in contention for the FedEx Cup drop from 50 to just 30.

Among those who have reached the Tour Championship finale and the chance to claim a first prize of $25m are World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, who won two of this year’s Majors, three-time champion Rory McIlroy and 2023 FedEx Cup winner Viktor Hovland.

However, for some high-profile players, their challenges ended at the Castle Pines Golf Club event. Here are seven of the biggest names to miss out on the Tour Championship.

Brian Harman - 31

Harman’s career highlight will remain his victory at the 2023 Open for the time being, after he had appeared in reasonable shape to make the field for the East Lake event, only to miss out by the narrowest of margins.

The American began the BMW Championship 29th in the FedEx Cup standings, but he could only finish 25th at the tournament to drop just beneath the cut-off, 29 points behind the man who claimed the final Tour Championship place, Justin Thomas.

Jason Day - 33

Just two places beneath Harman in the FedEx Cup standings is former World No.1 Jason Day after he began the BMW Championship in 25th.

However, a poor opening round of 78 did little to help his cause, and despite a decent recovery with rounds of 69, 71 and 71, he could only manage T33, which wasn’t enough to book his place at East Lake.

Will Zalatoris - 38

After spending much of 2023 recovering from back surgery, there’s a compelling argument that Zalatoris did well to make it as far as the second of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

He knew he had work to do at the BMW Championship as he occupied 37th in the standings when the tournament began. However, despite a creditable T13, it took him down a place after it only earned him 205 FedEx Cup points when he needed at least 361. 

A top-six finish would have been enough, but he fell just three shots short of that target.

Matt Fitzpatrick - 40

The 2022 US Open champion was a place above Zalatoris in the standings as he arrived in Colorado for the BMW Championship, but he got off to a shaky start with a 74 in the opening round before his form began trending in the right direction.

Rounds of 72 and 71 followed on Friday and Saturday, before Fitzpatrick ran into a problem with his driver on Sunday. He found a crack in the club face, but after consulting with a rules official, the damage wasn’t deemed extensive enough to warrant a replacement.

Despite still needing to complete 10 holes with that issue, Fitzpatrick gave it a good go with a final round of 70, but his finish of T28 fell short of what was required, and he exited the Playoffs 10 places beneath the cut-off for the Tour Championship.

Cameron Young - 44

Four places beneath Fitzpatrick in the standings is Cameron Young. Like Fitzpatrick, he got off to an indifferent start at the BMW Championship with a round of 75, and though things improved on Friday and Saturday, with efforts of 71 and 69, much of that good work was undone with a 77 in the final round, which included double bogeys at the 15th and 16th.

Max Homa - 46

Homa began the BMW Championship 13 places and 159 points adrift of the cut-off. While a top-five finish would have been enough for him to reach the Tour Championship, it didn’t quite happen for the six-time PGA Tour winner as he finished T33, leaving him 46th in the standings.

Nick Dunlap - 49

Of all the big names to miss out, it is perhaps Dunlap who can feel most satisfied with his efforts. 

After all, he claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory at The American Express before he’d even turned pro, and he proved it wasn’t a fluke with his second win on the circuit at the Barracuda Championship.

Dunlap again impressed at the FedEx St. Jude Championship with a T5, although he needed an even higher finish at the BMW Championship to make the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings. In the end, he finished T31 in Colorado to leave him 49th.

However, for Dunlap, and the other 20 players whose FedEx Cup challenges ended at the BMW Championship, there is the significant consolation of guaranteed places in all eight of next season's prestigious signature events.