FedExCup scenarios: The race to qualify for the Tour Championship

By Ali Stafford

Wednesday 7 September 2016 15:38, UK

Bubba Watson and Justin Rose are among the players heading to the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick with work to do to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship.

The FedExCup's current top 70 are eligible to feature in Indiana this week but only the top 30 will go forward to play in the PGA Tour's season finale at East Lake, Atlanta from September 22-25.

Patrick Reed leads the way with two events to go ahead of Dustin Johnson and Jason Day, while Rory McIlroy's Deutsche Bank Championship win lifted him 34 places to fourth spot.

The current top 20 in the standings are already assured of a place in the Atlanta field but there are plenty of others in action this week who need a big performance to stay in the race for FedExCup victory.

Open champion Henrik Stenson (24th) has withdrawn to rest an injury to his right knee ahead of the Ryder Cup and the Swede faces an anxious wait to see if he clings on to a top-30 spot.

Another of Darren Clarke's side for Hazeltine, Sergio Garcia, begins the week one place lower in the standings, while team-mate Rose (50th) is likely to need a top-five finish to assure a seventh consecutive Tour Championship appearance.

Watson (27th) needs to finish 45th or better to guarantee his spot, while fellow Ryder Cup hopeful J.B Holmes (42nd) must end the week seventh or higher to be assured of a spot at East Lake.

Brooks Koepka has already qualified for Davis Love III's team and hovers on the qualification line in 30th spot, with Daniel Berger (31st) his closest challenger and looking to replicate last year's runner-up finish in the event.

David Hearn (59th) only qualified for this week by finishing tied-eighth in Boston, but joins Luke Donald (60th) and 2014 FedExCup champion Billy Horschel (62nd) in requiring third place or better to keep their seasons going.