Three Georgians will be among the 30 players who will tee it up at East Lake this week in the Tour Championship by Coca Cola.
With his victory in the BMW Championship, St. Simons Island resident Zach Johnson vaulted from 27th to 4th in the FedExCup Playoffs standings, just ahead of fellow St. Simons resident Matt Kuchar in 5th.
Only the top five players in the standings are guaranteed a FedExCup championship if they win at East Lake, with Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott joining Johnson and Kuchar in the top five.
The third Georgian is Alpharetta’s Roberto Castro, like Kuchar a former Georgia Tech golfer. Castro qualified for the Tour Championship in just his second season on the PGA Tour, with his top 30 finish also earning him an invitation to the 2014 Masters.
Castro is 24th in the standings coming into the Tour Championship, making frequent appearances on PGA Tour leader boards after shooting 63 in the opening round of the Players Championship.
Going into the Playoffs, Castro was outside the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, but was 25th, 9th and 15th in the three Playoffs events to work his way up to 24th.
Several other Georgians made runs at top 30 finishes but fell short.
South Georgia native and recent UGA graduate Harris English finished 31st, 26 points behind Dustin Johnson in 30th. English was 29th prior to the BMW Championship. Woodstock native Chris Kirk, like English an ex-Bulldog and St. Simons resident, finished 34th, with Augusta native Charles Howell dropping from 31st coming into the BMW Championship to 35th.
Former UGA golfer Bubba Watson was 37th, with Macon’s Russell Henley, also an ex-Bulldog, ending up 44th after spending most of the season in the top 30.
Among the other prominent players to qualify for the Tour Championship were Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker, Jim Furyk, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Hunter Mahan, Keegan Bradley, Bill Haas, Jason Dufner, Webb Simpson, Charl Schwartzel, Sergio Garcia, Boo Weekley, Luke Donald and Dustin Johnson.
Snedeker, Haas and Furyk are the last three FedExCup champions, with all three winning the Tour Championship to capture the season-long title.
The list of name players who did not make it to East Lake includes Rickie Fowler, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Graham McDowell and Ernie Els.