Survivor, Wyndham Championship edition lived up to its billing.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Survivor, Wyndham Championship edition lived up to its billing.
There were birdie bombs and three putts, clutch shots and three-jack bogeys at 18 and lots of refreshing the FedEx Cup standings to see who would be moving on to Memphis and the FedEx St. Jude Championship. In the end, only one player moved in (Chris Kirk thanks to a T-5 jumped from No. 73 to No. 61) and one out (Ben An, who missed the cut and tumbled from No. 69 to 74) from the top 70 but the drama was real.
Here's a closer look at the bubble.
Last five into 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs
No. 66 Kevin Yu
Yu started the week at No. 63. He missed the 36-hole cut but didn't really have to sweat it out at all. He'll have work to do next week if he wants to move on to the BMW Championship, the second leg of the playoffs.
No. 67 Emiliano Grillo
Grillo started the week at No. 66 and by virtue of making the cut, he turned out to be safe, dropping just one spot for shooting 4-under 276 and finishing T-44.
No. 68 Erik van Rooyen
The South African started the week at No. 64 but he withdrew citing a back injury on Friday afternoon after playing 14 holes. He was 4 over and well outside the cut line. Entering Sunday's final round, he stood on the wrong side of the bubble at No. 71 but by the slimmest of margins and it turned out things went his way for him to hang on to a spot.
No. 69 Cam Davis
Davis started the week at No. 67 but going into the final round was projected to be bumped to No. 72. The Aussie endured a wide-range of emotions on Sunday. He made a triple bogey at No. 11 to drop to 4 over for the day and dig himself a big hole. But he battled back with three birdies on his final seven holes and canned an 8-foot par putt at 18 to shoot 1-over 71 and finish T-44.
"I just freed up and just started playing golf because I kind of thought that my chances of getting through to next week were kind of out of my hands at that point," he said.
It proved to be enough to squeak his way into the playoffs even if Davis decided not to stress it.
"I'm not going to ride that emotional rollercoaster. I've been on the cutline every year I feel like since I've been on Tour, whether it's for the 50 or for this. No, it's too stressful to keep your eyes on it or try to follow too closely what's going on," he said after his round.
No. 70 Matti Schmid
The German started the week as the "Bubble Boy" and finished there as well but not without a wild ride of emotions. He started the day projected at No. 65 but played the first 11 holes in 5-over par.
"I just didn't have it," he said. "Put myself in bad spots, missed some key fairways I would say and struggled out of the rough here."
But he refused to throw in the towel. He made a birdie at 13 to right the ship. As he played the 15th hole, he noticed that he stood in 72nd place and still had a chance. "Then I made three birdies so probably I should look at it more often," he said with a smile.
That included a clutch 25-foot birdie putt at 18 to shoot 1-over 71 and finish T-31.
First five out of 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs
No. 71 Davis Thompson
The former Georgia Bulldog, who started the week at No. 78, was in and then he was out. He jumped from No. 71 to No. 67 when he rolled in a 48-foot birdie putt at 15 and showed some rare emotion with a multiple fist pumps. But at 18, he slammed a 46-foot birdie putt past the hole and missed the 6-foot comebacker. The bogey dropped him to 12-under 268 and T-12 and his bubble popped. Thompson said he probably won't touch a club for the next few weeks.
"Putted terrible today. Made that long putt on 15, that's about it," he said. "It's really disappointing. Sucks ending regular season this way. Yeah, that's pretty much it."
No. 72 Gary Woodland
Entering the week at No. 75, Woodland, who had surgery to remove a brain lesion in late 2023, was the sentimental favorite. He stood T-9 going into the final round and was the "Bubble Boy," projected at No. 70, heading into the final round. It wasn't to be as he shot even and finished T-23.
No. 73 Nicolai Hojgaard
The Dane started the week at No. 71 but never got untracked. He survived the cut on the number at 3 under and shot even for the weekend to finish T-35 and drop to No. 73. It also wasn't a week that helped his European Ryder Cup hopes.
No. 74 Ben An
The South Korean entered the week at No. 69 but missed the cut this week and his chances of sneaking into the top 70 were slim to none. He fell to No. 74.
No. 75 Keith Mitchell
The former Georgia Bulldog began the week at No. 72 and needed to make the cut to have a chance. But in his second round, he four-putted from 49 feet and made double bogey at 15 and failed to convert a 6-foot par putt at 18 to miss the cut by one.
"Gave it my all this year, probably too much, loads of pressure on myself to make the playoffs and top 50. Physically my game has shown signs but just haven't shown up in the moment when it counts the most. We fight and fight and grind to give it our all and to finish like that is really just heartbreaking," he wrote in a text to PGA Tour.com.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: FedEx Cup Playoffs: Last five in, first five out
Category: General Sports
