News: TOUR Notes

Franklin/Getty Images

Ernie Els could move inside the top 125 with a seventh-place finish this week.

FEDEXCUP: Inside the FedExCup | No. 1 Watch | Bubble Watch | Weekly leaders | Standings | Video | More

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

So three weeks are left in the regular season … and you’re not currently inside the top 125 in FedExCup points, which is the cutoff for making the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup (hmmm, a certain two-time FedExCup champ comes to mind).

Don’t despair. You still have time to make a move.

Thanks to the no-cut event at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, each player has the opportunity to pick up significant points this weekend at Firestone. Points are also increased this week (550 to the winner), and will be further increased at next week’s PGA Championship (600 to the winner).

Two years ago, Padraig Harrington arrived at Firestone ranked 142nd in points. But  he tied for second that week, added a T10 the next week at the PGA Championship and entered the Playoffs 66th in points.

And don’t overlook the points offered by the Reno-Tahoe Open. Although reduced from the usual amount, the points can still make a huge difference.

Two years ago, Jeff Quinney tied for second in Reno, moving him from 146th to 108th in points and putting him in the Playoffs.

A year ago, Bill Lunde won the Turning Stone Resort Championship — which occupied the week on the schedule that Reno-Tahoe has this year. Lunde went from 164th in points to 97th and guaranteed his spot in the Playoffs.

Then there’s the Wyndham Championship in the final week of the regular season. In the first four years of the Playoffs, 14 players from outside the top 125 entering Wyndham managed to move inside that number to make the post-season.

So for those players outside the top 125 (such as the notable names below at Firestone), it’s not too late. Just don’t dawdle too long.

PLAYERS OUTSIDE THE TOP 125 IN WGC-BRIDGESTONE FIELD

BUBBA’S FALL: Bubba Watson was No. 1 in FedExCup points for five consecutive weeks. But he has since fallen out of the top five (he enters this week at No. 6). Since winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Watson has six starts on the PGA TOUR and has not been able to crack the top 25. His best finish over that span came in his last start at the British Open (T30).

LAST THREE STARTS: The top five players who have accumulated the most FedExCup points in their last three starts have each benefitted from winning a TOUR event during their respective stretches (Steve Stricker, Fredrik Jacobson, Scott Stallings, Nick Watney and Sean O’Hair). No. 6 on that list, however, is Dustin Johnson, who has not picked up a win this year.

His last three starts have been very points-productive, though. A tie for fourth at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance produced 135 points. A tie for 23rd at the U.S. Open gave him 45 points, and a tie for second at the British Open gave him 270 points.

Johnson is ranked 15th overall and is one of five players inside the top 15 who have yet to win a TOUR event this year (Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar, Bill Haas and Jason Day are the others).

MORE: Nine players have a chance to overtake Nick Watney atop the FedExCup points list this week at the WGC-Bridgestone … Last week, Steven Bowditch and Josh Teater moved inside the top 125, bumping out Alex Cejka and Harrington. … Last week’s winner of The Greenbrier Classic, Scott Stallings, moved from No. 88 to No. 26 in the standings. Of the top 50 in FedExCup points, 36 are in the field at the WGC-Bridgestone, including nine of the top 10. Of the top 125, 34 are in the field at the Reno-Tahoe Open.