We’re moving on to the second FedEx Cup playoff event, the BMW Championship, which has returned to Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. The star-studded field is playing for $20 million with the winner taking home $3.6 million for a victory on Sunday.
It’s going to be difficult to top the drama of the first playoff event, when Justin Rose went nuts with a birdie stretch over the last few holes in Memphis, then topped J.J. Spaun on the third playoff hole at TPC Southwind. Of course, Tommy Fleetwood had a chance to win but made a late bogey to fall back a shot. There were five players who played their respective ways into the top 50, meaning there were five who played their way out.
Now that we’re down to the top 50—actually, the top 49, but more on that in a bit—it’ll be another volatile closing nine holes late Sunday to see who the top 30 will be to advance to the playoff finale at East Lake in Atlanta.
It starts at the top with World No. 1. Scottie Scheffler, who tied for third last week and was only a shot out of the aforementioned playoff. Rory McIlroy skipped the opener but did not move at all and remained No. 2. Spaun is third and Rose is fourth. Sepp Straka is fifth but announced Monday that he will not be playing this week to attend to a personal matter. That means there are only 49 of the 50 in the field and Straka is still guaranteed to be among the top 30 going to East Lake. Lucas Glover is right at 30 and Sam Stevens is 31st. (Here is the complete top 50 list.)
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Also on the line this week are precious U.S. Ryder Cup spots. The top six automatic qualifiers will be solidified Sunday. Captain Keegan Bradley—the defending BMW Championship winner who captured the title last year at Castle Pines in Colorado—will make his six selections to fill out the team three days after the Tour Championship. Scheffler, Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau and Harris English are the top six right now. Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Ben Griffin are the next three in points. Bradley is 10th.
But before that, there are four important rounds to be played outside Baltimore.
Here’s the rundown of what each player will earn this week. Check back here Sunday after play is complete for updates.
WIN: $3.6 million
2: $2.16 million
3: $1.36 million
4: $990,000
5: $830,000
6: $750,000
7: $695,000
8: $640,000
9: $600,000
10: $560,000
11: $520,000
12: $480,000
13: $441,000
14: $402,000
15: $382,000
16: $362,000
17: $342,000
18: $322,000
19: $302,000
20: $282,000
21: $262,000
22: $245,000
23: $229,500
24: $213,000
25: $197,000
26: $181,000
27: $174,000
28: $167,000
29: $160,000
30: $153,000
31: $146,000
32: $139,000
33: $132,000
34: $127,000
35: $122,000
36: $117,500
37: $112,000
38: $108,000
39: $104,000
40: $100,000
41: $96,000
42: $92,000
43: $88,000
44: $84,000
45: $80,000
46: $76,000
47: $72,000
48: $70,000
49: $68,000
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
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