The 2018 FedExCup Playoffs begin August 23 at Ridgewood CC in New Jersey, and at least 20 golfers with Georgia Ties will be among the 125 players qualifying for the first of four Playoffs events.
The top 100 on the points list after the Playoffs opener will compete the next week in Boston, with the top 70 after that tournament moving on to Aronimink in Philadelphia. The top 30 remaining players will qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake, which is scheduled for Sept. 20-23 after a week off following the event in Philadelphia.
Here is a look at how the Georgia contingent on the PGA Tour stands going into this week’s regular season finale in Greensboro. Players’ FedExCup rank is in parentheses, with an asterisk designating the players who are competing in Greensboro.
Bubba Watson (4): Has three wins this season, but other than his victory in Hartford the week after the U.S, Open, has done little since his tie for fifth in the Masters. The ex-Georgia Bulldog has qualified for the Ryder Cup on points, preventing a possible second straight snub as a captain’s choice.
Patrick Reed (9): Masters title highlighted an otherwise strong year for the former Augusta State standout, which included a tremendous stretch of play throughout the spring and a fourth place finish in the U.S Open. Will join Watson on the Ryder Cup squad.
Patton Kizzire (15). Other than a tie for 12th in the WGC event in Mexico in March, has disappeared since winning his second event of the wraparound season in Hawaii in January. The St. Simons Island resident has made just three of his last 13 cuts excluding no-cut WGC tournaments.
Chesson Hadley (26): The former Georgia Tech golfer has enjoyed a breakout season in his return to the PGA Tour full time after spending most of 2017 on the Web.com Tour. Has seven top 10s and 14 top 20s, but has not played as well of late, missing four of his last six cuts.
Luke List (29): The fourth year PGA Tour pro has improved every season, and this has been his best showing yet. List, who grew up in north Georgia, has five top-10 finishes and 10 top 25s, but has missed four of his last seven cuts since a T9 in Charlotte in May.
Brian Harman (31): After a great start to the 2017-18 season, ex-UGA golfer has cooled off in recent months with a T6 in Hartford the last of his eight top 10s, and the only one since the Match Play in March. Savannah native and St. Simons resident is still in position for second straight spot in East Lake field.
Kevin Kisner (38): Thanks to a tie for second in the British Open and a T12 last week in the PGA Championship, has a shot at fourth straight appearance at East Lake. Kisner, a member of Georgia’s 2005 NCAA Championship squad, is hoping for a Ryder Cup selection after a strong showing in last year’s Presidents Cup. Apart from the majors, has not done much this season since Hilton Head.
Charles Howell (46): Augusta native has been gradually dropping in standings since annual fast start, with little to show for his efforts the past few months. Has 11 top-20 finishes in 2017-18 but just three top 10s, only one since January. His hopes for a return to his hometown major are again slipping out of his grasp.
Zach Johnson (49): Has placed in the top 20 in each of his last six starts, including three majors and the final WGC event at Firestone CC. Still hoping for a spot on the Ryder Cup team, but will probably need to turn those top 20s into top 10s the next few weeks if he wants to make the team or return to East lake for a tenth time. St. Simons resident has only two top 10s on the season against 11 top 20s.
Stewart Cink (55): Former Georgia Tech standout and Duluth resident has placed fourth or better in three of his last six starts, including a tie for fourth in the PGA that earned him his first Masters invitation since 2014, when his five-year exemption for winning the 2009 British Open ran out. Is looking to qualify for the Tour Championship for the first time since ’09.
Chris Kirk (60)*: It’s been a solid season for the ex-Bulldog, Kisner’s teammate on the national championship squad. He has four top 10s and eight top 25s, and has missed only three of 23 cuts. Woodstock native and Athens resident is looking to improve his standing this week before the Playoffs begin.
Matt Kuchar (62): This has been the poorest season in almost a decade for the former Georgia Tech standout and St. Simons resident, who has qualified for every Tour Championship since 2010. Has four top 10s, including a T9 in the British Open, but that may not be enough to put him on the Ryder Cup team for a fifth straight time.
Keith Mitchell (66)*: Recent Georgia Bulldog and St. Simons resident has enjoyed a successful rookie season with four top 10s, including a second in Puerto Rico and a T3 in the Byron Nelson. In next to last start, tied for seventh in the John Deere.
Russell Henley (81)*: This has been a mostly disappointing season for the Macon native and former Georgia Bulldog, typified by his being bumped out of a spot in the recent WGC event at Firestone by his poor second round in the British Open and the play of Tiger Woods that week. Scored two of his three top 10s recently in Hartford and at the Greenbrier, but will have to do that in the Playoffs to get back to East Lake for a third time since 2014.
Ollie Schniederjans (82)*: Since a pair of top 10s on the West Coast early this year, was mostly quite until a recent fifth place finish in Reno. The recent Georgia Tech standout from Powder Springs is looking for a repeat of his week last year in Greensboro, where he battled Henrik Stenson in a shootout down to the wire before finishing second.
Trey Mullinax (97)*: A member of Alabama’s two recent NCAA Championship teams, the second-year pro has improved on his rookie showing of 137 on the points list last year. Has three top 10s including a tie for second in San Antonio and a T6 in Memphis, but the St. Simons resident has struggled since the latter showing.
Richy Werenski (100)*: A teammate of Schniederjans at Georgia Tech, Werenski will keep his card for a second straight season after a similar showing last year as a rookie. Has played his best golf the past two months, tying for fourth in Memphis and for second in the opposite field event in Kentucky that was formerly played at a Robert Trent Jones Trail course in Alabama.
J.T. Poston (109)*: Like fellow St. Simons resident Mullinax, has moved up in his second season after finishing 132nd in the FedExCup standings last year. Made a recent run at victory in the tournament in Kentucky, finishing two shots behind the winner in fifth place, and has a few other top-20 showings of late.
Vaughn Taylor (111)*: Picked up his first top 10 of 2018 recently in Reno, where he won in back-to-back years early in his career. Augusta native and former Augusta State golfer scored a pair of top 10s last fall, the second in the RSM Classic at Sea Island GC, and has added five top 20s since to remain exempt in his early 40s.
Scott Brown (118)*: The Augusta native and Aiken. S.C. neighbor of Kisner scored a pair of top 10s in the fall 2017 portion of the schedule, and has remained inside the top 125 despite only one top-20 finish in an individual event this year. Finished in the top 100 each of the previous five years, and is a near lock to place among the top 125 again this season.
Harris English (132)*: After five quality seasons that included two appearances in the Tour Championship, the former Georgia Bulldog has struggled through a second straight difficult season, and needs a strong showing this week to retain his exempt status. The south Georgia native and St. Simons resident has missed 10 of his last 12 cuts, and has just a handful of successful showings in 29 starts.
Hudson Swafford (152)*: Like his former Georgia teammate and fellow St. Simons resident, Swafford has also suffered through a disappointing season. But thanks to his win last year in Palm Springs, Calif., he is exempt though the 2018-19 season. Recent ties for 12th in Canada and 11th in Reno are promising signs that Swafford is returning to the form he displayed the previous three seasons.
Michael Thompson (158)*: This will be Thompson’s fifth straight season outside the top 100 in the FedExCup standings, and likely his fourth in a row in the 140s or lower. A solid showing in Greensboro will move the St. Simons resident into the top 150 and assure him of non-exempt status for next season, and he could also remain exempt with a top 25 finish in the Web.com Finals.
Wesley Bryan (161)*: After an outstanding rookie showing that included a win on Hilton Head Island, Bryan has struggled through a prolonged sophomore slump, but will remain exempt for the 2018-19 season because of that victory. The Augusta resident has just one top-25 finish this season, a T12 in Memphis.
Jonathan Byrd (183)*: The veteran St. Simons resident has almost nothing to show for 23 starts this season, and is headed back to the Web.com Finals where he needs to duplicate his strong showing from 2017 to remain exempt.
Cameron Tringale (194)*: Following five solid seasons, the former Georgia Tech golfer has been headed in a downward spiral the last three years, bottoming out this season. He has missed 18 of 25 cuts with a best finish of T25 and will need a top 25 finish in the Web.com finals to remain on the PGA Tour in 2018-19.
Davis Love (209)*: At the age of 54, the long-time St. Simons resident is getting closer to becoming a full-time Champions Tour player. He has struggled to be competitive in 11 PGA Tour starts, but with his career exempt status, can play on the tour as long as he likes.
Jason Bohn (222)*: A PGA Tour member since 2004 and two-time tournament winner, the Acworth resident has not been the same player since suffering a heart during the 2016 Honda Classic. Playing on past champion status, he has made just two of eight cuts this season, and has taken his first steps toward the broadcast studio, doing some work as an analyst for Golf Channel.
Heath Slocum (225)*: The Alpharetta resident has been playing out of the past champion status for several years, and made two of five cuts after going 0 for 10 the previous two years.
Kris Blanks (242)*: After being sidelined since 2014 with a shoulder injury, Blanks returned to action on a limited basis this season, and will be making his sixth start this week. The Warner Robins native and former assistant at the Landings in Savannah will have just a few starts remaining next season on his medical extension. He played well in 2010 and ’11, but after narrowly retaining status after the 2012 season, has made only 14 PGA Tour starts over the past six seasons.