Harris English can boost his FedExCup chances at the BMW Championship

Harris English heads three selections from David John for this week's BMW Championship in Chicago.

The PGA Tour players should be revved up for the final push to the summit with just two weeks left of the FedExCup play-offs and the season whittled down to just 70 players.

The BMW Championship returns to Conway Farms Golf Club just outside Chicago and not a million miles away from Whistling Straits on the shores of Lake Michigan, which staged the PGA Championship a month ago.

There will be a similar links-style feel too around the Tom Fazio-designed layout which was used for the event two years ago as Zach Johnson ran out the winner by a couple of shots - there was plenty of drama along the way as third-placed Jim Furyk fired the magical 59 in round two.

Both are back with Johnson always hugely popular in the Midwest while the ultra-reliable Furyk is finishing the campaign strongly and has already notched a T11 and a T4 in the first two legs of the play-offs.

We get all three of Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Jordan Spieth in the same place too so it's not a shock to see the trio dominate the sharp end of the betting.

Rory skipped The Barclays as he continues to manage his recovery from his summer ankle injury and was certainly delighted with a closing 66 at TPC Boston in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

I have little doubt he will become increasingly sharp over the next few weeks and I just wonder whether his main target will now be the Final Series on the European Tour and retaining his No 1 spot for the season on the Race To Dubai.

It does sound silly to suggest that he will use this and the Tour Championship as preps but McIlroy requires gametime and has added his name as well to the field for next month's Frys.com Open in California.

Day, who looked in need of the week off after a stellar August, was T4 here two years ago and has now nosed in front of Spieth in the FedEx Cup standings.

The latter missed back-to-back cuts to start off the final stretch of the season but as we have come to expect, he was in typically philosophical mood.

Perhaps with what he has achieved so far he is ready to cruise through the last couple of weeks and then have a decent break.

Who am I kidding!

He said in Boston: "My ball-striking is fantastic and I am hitting it as well as I did at the Open and the PGA. I just got a couple of tough breaks and I played well at Conway Farms last time. I will just have to go ahead and make up for things over the last two events."

He was honoured by the University of Texas at half-time of their ball game last weekend, showing off his Masters green jacket, and looks relaxed and ready to go once again.

That being said, I am keen on some outsiders making an impact and they start with Harris English.

The former Georgia Bulldog has cooled off somewhat in the second half of the season but recaptured some sparkle the other week in Boston with a T12 despite an iffy round of 74 on day two.

He said: "I have had a lot of mediocre weekends but feel like it is really close," which is good news as he currently sits in 32nd place in the standings and needs to make a move in an upward direction if he is to make the top 30 for the Tour Championship."

Why wouldn't a native Georgian not want to head to Atlanta for the big final showdown? And although his course form here from two years ago is a moderate 50th place, he looks poised to give it a good shot at extending his campaign.

His University Of Georgia compatriot Chris Kirk is also on my radar this week.

The winner of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial this year rather messed things up for himself in mid-summer after he suffered a broken hand playing with his children.

That led to an enforced absence of seven weeks but he has made it back in time to see out the final four events - he missed the cut in New Jersey but the signs were then much more positive as he finished inside the top 30 in defence of his title at the Deutsche Bank.

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He bounced back pleasingly there from an opening 74 and another couple of weeks to sharpen his skills will not do any harm at all as he still seemed to be struggling with his ball-striking - which is quite understandable.

Like English, he needs a good week (37th in the standings) but I am encouraged by his course form - T2 here in 2008 in US Open qualifying while he posted a T24 at this tournament in 2013 where he closed with a 66.

He did make the Tour Championship 12 months ago and finished inside the top five so the motivation for him to play well and head back is obvious while his enforced absence should mean he is one of the freshest players in the field at this stage.

My final pick goes to Aussie Matt Jones, who does arrive in decent nick after his T4 last time out.

That could have been better in Boston but he rather unravelled with a couple of double bogeys on the back nine on the way to a closing 74.

He showed up well at Whistling Straits for the first 36 holes before his effort petered out although that does seem like a slightly unwanted trait developing in his game when push comes to shove at the business end.

But Jones has plenty still to play for in the race to make it inside the top 30 (currently 33rd) and his performance here two years ago when he made the top 10 and closed out with a couple of 67s adds to a positive profile.