4 Big Names Eliminated From FedEx Cup Playoffs Before BMW Championship

20 PGA Tour players failed to make it out of the first round of the FedEx Cup playoffs as 50 continue on to Castle Pines...

Jordan Spieth at The Players Championship

Jordan Spieth had a mixed second round to miss the cut

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The FedEx Cup Playoffs began in dramatic style last week with Hideki Matsuyama winning the FedEx St Jude Championship by two shots after almost blowing a five-stroke advantage at TPC Southwind.

While there was plenty of interest at the top end of the event leaderboard, 70 players were also battling it out to gain employment next week as well - with only the top-50 in the FedEx Cup standings progressing to the BMW Championship.

Every birdie and bogey changed the fate of not only the golfer involved, but also several players around them as the likes of Nick Dunlap moved around 25 places in the space of one hole down the back nine on Sunday.

While the two-time PGA Tour winner survived one more week to reach the top-50, several big names and winners on tour this season saw their Playoff campaigns come to an end at the first hurdle.

Here are just a handful of big names to miss out on the BMW Championship and Tour Championship.

Which Big Names Have Been Eliminated From The FedEx Cup Playoffs?

Jordan Spieth (67th)

Jordan Spieth of the United States looks on from the second tee during the first round of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Spieth managed just three top-10s in 2024 and a best result of third at The Sentry - ultimately ending 67th in the FedEx Cup standings. He also missed the cut in seven of his 22 starts as a disappointing campaign finally came to a merciful ending.

The three-time Major winner revealed he had been battling a troublesome wrist issue for some time, however, and plans to have surgery ASAP before returning either later in the year or early in 2025.

Min Woo Lee (60th)

10 Things You Didn't Know About Min Woo Lee

(Image credit: Getty Images)

A bonafide fans favorite, Lee finished as a runner-up in two PGA Tour events this term (Cognizant Classic and Rocket Mortgage Classic) while also scoring eight top-25s from 17 appearances.

Yet, the Australian couldn't find the result he needed at TPC Southwind - T22 left him 173 points adrift of 50th - and he ended the season 60th. He is likely to tee it up in a handful more DP World Tour events before the turn of the year, though, so 'Dr Chipinski' will leave his clinic open for a little while longer.

Justin Rose (55th)

Justin Rose reading a putt using AimPoint

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Rose was 75 points away from featuring at the BMW Championship this week after a T22 finish at TPC Southwind. 

The Englishman enjoyed or endured something of a feast or famine campaign, with his results in Majors reflecting his PGA Tour season overall, in a way. Having missed the cut at The Masters and US Open, Rose was T6 at the PGA Championship and a narrow runner-up at The Open. 

Otherwise, he had one top-10 and missed five more cuts from 19 appearances in total, leaving him to focus on the remainder of the DP World Tour term.

Tom Kim (51st)

Tom Kim of South Korea smiles on the fourth tee during the Pro-Am prior to the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club on July 10, 2024 in North Berwick, Scotland.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

17 points. That's all Tom Kim missed the FedEx Cup top-50 by after the dust had settled on the FedEx St Jude Championship. His T50 finish was extremely disappointing to a player who almost bested good friend Scottie Scheffler at the Memorial Tournament, only to lose in a playoff.

While Kim only missed four cuts from 23 starts, he did also only register one further top-10 as a plethora of so-so weeks populated his 2024 season.

FedEx Cup Standings

Swipe to scroll horizontally
PositionPlayerFedEx Cup Points
1Scottie Scheffler6,533
2Xander Schauffele5,037
3Hideki Matsuyama3,899
4Collin Morikawa2,596
5Rory McIlroy2,559
6Wyndham Clark2,504
7Ludvig Aberg2,146
8Sahith Theegala2,076
9Patrick Cantlay2,017
10Sungjae Im1,950
11Shane Lowry1,895
12Robert MacIntyre1,885
13Akshay Bhatia1,847
14Tony Finau1,843
15Byeong Hun An1,835
16Viktor Hovland1,834
17Russell Henley1,777
18Sam Burns1,685
19Billy Horschel1,682
20Matthieu Pavon1,608
21Aaron Rai1,589
22Justin Thomas1,551
23Christiaan Bezuidenhout1,546
24Sepp Straka1,516
25Jason Day1,485
26Davis Thompson1,465
27Taylor Pendrith1,464
28Tom Hoge1,450
29Brian Harman1,446
30Denny McCarthy1,365
CUT-OFFTOUR CHAMPIONSHIP CUT-OFFTOUR CHAMPIONSHIP CUT-OFF
31Tommy Fleetwood1,362
32Chris Kirk1,346
33Corey Conners1,277
34J.T. Poston1,273
35Stephan Jaeger1,261
36Matt Fitzpatrick1,258
37Will Zalatoris1,256
38Austin Eckroat1,253
39Cameron Young1,245
40Thomas Detry1,241
41Adam Scott1,225
42Adam Hadwin1,208
43Max Homa1,206
44Si Woo Kim1,195
45Alex Noren1,173
46Eric Cole1,132
47Max Greyserman1,121
48Nick Dunlap1,121
49Cam Davis1,105
50Keegan Bradley1,096
CUT-OFFBMW CHAMPIONSHIP CUT-OFFBMW CHAMPIONSHIP CUT-OFF
51Tom Kim1,079
52Mackenzie Hughes1,048
53Maverick McNealy1,045
54Patrick Rodgers1,032
55Justin Rose1,021
56Seamus Power993
57Harris English984
58Nick Taylor985
59Jake Knapp984
60Min Woo Lee923
61Ben Griffin895
62Erik van Rooyen893
63Brendon Todd860
64Taylor Moore818
65Peter Malnati814
66Jordan Spieth795
67Emiliano Grillo765
68Mark Hubbard755
69Jhonattan Vegas739
70Victor Perez708
Jonny Leighfield
Staff Writer

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, and Lee Westwood. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and is hoping to reach his Handicap goal of 18 at some stage. He attended both the 150th and 151st Open Championships and dreams of attending The Masters one day.