There are only two regular-season events left in the 2024 PGA Tour season, meaning the FedEx Cup Playoffs are right around the corner. That means the race for the playoffs is on, as players jockey for spots in the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings to secure a spot in the FedEx St. Jude Championship next month in Memphis. This is the second year only 70 players reach the first playoff event, unlike previous years when 125 made the playoffs. The top 50 players after the FedEx St. Jude Championship on August 15-18 will qualify for the BMW Championship at Castle Pines on August 22-25 in Colorado, then the top 30 will head to Atlanta and East Lake for the Tour Championship on August 29-Sept. 1.
While players like Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are locks to make the Tour Championship, other golfers have work to do to make it into the playoffs and secure signature event starts, status and more for 2025 and beyond. That starts this week in Minnesota at the 2024 3M Open. Luke List putts on the 11th green during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge.List is the ultimate bubble man, sitting at No. 70 with two events left. He won the Sanderson Farms in the fall and finished T-2 at the Genesis Invitational, but he has missed six of his last seven cuts. He can’t afford to do that the next two weeks to make the playoffs.
Lucas Glover gets ready before teeing off on the 18th hole during the second round of the John Deere Classic. Glover, who last year won the Wyndham Championship and then the FedEx St. Jude Championship the next week, would be the first man out at No. 71 if the playoffs were to begin today. He missed both cuts in Scotland and has missed the weekend in four of his past six starts.
Lee Hodges celebrates the win after the final round of the 3M Open. The 3M Open defending champion is No. 72 in the standings with two events left. He’ll need another strong week at TPC Twin Cities to earn a berth in the playoffs. Keith Mitchell reacts to his tee shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the John Deere Classic. In his last five starts, Mitchell has two top-25 finishes (including a top-10 at the RBC Canadian Open) but also missed three cuts. He’ll need more of the former to make the playoffs, heading into the 3M Open in 75th off consecutive MCs.
Kurt Kitayama studies the green on No. 1 before making a putt during the second round of the Travelers Championship. Since winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational last year, it has been a slow go for Kitayama. He has missed only three cuts this year (including the API) in 18 starts but has only one top-10 finish. He’s 77th in the standings and needs a couple good weeks to make it. Charlie Hoffman tees off on the sixth hole during the first round of the Barracuda Championship. Hoffman moved up six spots with his T-8 at the Barracuda last week, but he remains in 80th and outside the playoffs. Rickie Fowler plays the 12th hole during the third round of the Open Championship at Royal Troon. The six-time Tour winner has made 14 cuts in 20 starts this season, but he also has only two top-25 finishes and is 98th in the standings after the Open, where he finished 71st.
Joel Dahmen lines up a putt on the eighth hole during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open. Dahmen had made eight straight cuts before a pair of MCs the past two weeks at the ISCO and Barracuda. He sits 109th in the standings and is in need of a pair of top finishes or a win to make the postseason. Davis Riley sits inside the winner’s 1975 Stingray Corvette after the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. The winner of the Charles Schwab Challenge in May, Riley sits 69th in the standings and just above the cut line for the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He needs to find form, however. Since his win, he has three MCs and a best finish of T-48. Emiliano Grillo plays his shot on the 17th tee during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. 66. Emiliano Grillo 67. Maverick McNealy 68. Victor Perez 69. Davis Riley 70. Luke List —– 71. Lucas Glover 72. Lee Hodges 73. Andrew Putnam 74. Adam Schenk 75. Keith Mitchell.
