CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — One year after he was the first man out of the FedEx Cup playoff field, Justin Thomas squeaked into the Tour Championship field Sunday and will have a chance, even if it’s only mathematical, to win the FedEx Cup.
Thomas placed No. 71 in the FedEx Cup standings after his difficult 2022-23 season. Though he still hasn’t won a tournament in nearly 2 1/2 years, Thomas fared better in 2024 and entered this week’s BMW Championship in 22nd place in points.
An opening round of 76 nearly doomed his chances, but on Sunday at Castle Pines Golf Club, Thomas shot a bogey-free, 4-under-par 68 to finish the tournament T39 and soften his fall. He finished the day in 30th place in the FedEx Cup race — the last man into the field for the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
“My destiny is probably a lot more in the hands of unfortunately other people more than my own, unless I shot 10 or 11 under today,” Thomas told reporters after his round, with the tournament still going. “I feel like I somewhat did my part, now hopefully it pans out.”
What Thomas didn’t foresee was Brian Harman’s rough finish. Harman, the 2023 Open champion, birdied four holes between Nos. 11-17 but made a mess of the par-4 18th, needing four shots to find the green after driving into a bunker and then two-putting for double bogey.
It hurt Harman’s bottom line. He finished the week 31st in the points standings and was the first man out of the Tour Championship field.
Keegan Bradley probably could say something encouraging to Thomas about being the final qualifier to an event. Bradley barely snuck into the BMW Championship, 50th out of a field of 50, and took his destiny into his own hands by winning the tournament by a stroke. He leapt to fourth place in the FedEx Cup standings.
Australia’s Adam Scott, who tied for second at the BMW, jumped from No. 41 to No. 14 in the standings. Tommy Fleetwood of England (No. 31 to No. 22) and Chris Kirk (No. 32 to No. 26) also played their way into the season finale at East Lake Golf Club.
Joining Harman on the wrong side of the cut line were Australia’s Jason Day (No. 33), Denny McCarthy (No. 35), Will Zalatoris (No. 38) and Max Homa (No. 46).
The 30 players at the Tour Championship will be given a staggered scoring start based on their season points total. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is slotted into first place at 10 under par — just a two-stroke edge on the field, despite having a historic season that featured six PGA Tour victories, including the Masters and the Players Championship.
The 30 qualifiers for this year’s Tour Championship and their starting scores are as follows:
1. Scottie Scheffler, 10 under
2. Xander Schauffele, 8 under
3. Hideki Matsuyama, 7 under
4. Keegan Bradley, 6 under
5. Ludvig Aberg, 5 under
6. Rory McIlroy, 4 under
7. Collin Morikawa, 4 under
8. Wyndham Clark, 4 under
9. Sam Burns, 4 under
10. Patrick Cantlay, 4 under
11. Sungjae Im, 3 under
12. Sahith Theegala, 3 under
13. Shane Lowry, 3 under
14. Adam Scott, 3 under
15. Tony Finau, 3 under
16. Byeong Hun An, 2 under
17. Viktor Hovland, 2 under
18. Russell Henley, 2 under
19. Akshay Bhatia, 2 under
20. Robert MacIntyre, 2 under
21. Billy Horschel, 1 under
22. Tommy Fleetwood, 1 under
23. Sepp Straka, 1 under
24. Mathieu Pavon, 1 under
25. Taylor Pendrith, 1 under
26. Chris Kirk, even
27. Tom Hoge, even
28. Aaron Rai, even
29. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, even
30. Justin Thomas, even
