After taking off last week, Rory McIlroy is back for the second leg of the FedExCup playoffs. And while top-ranked Scottie Scheffler is the favorite, second-ranked McIlroy is his No. 1 challenger for the BMW Championship.
The playoffs began with the top 70 golfers in the FedExCup standings, minus McIlroy, competing in the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tenn. The top 50 advanced to this week’s BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. (No. 5 Sepp Straka withdrew from the BMW due to an undisclosed family matter, but will compete in the season-ending Tour Championship.)
The No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Rankings, Scheffler is the reigning FedExCup champion and seeking to become the first back-to-back winner in the 19 years of the FedExCup.
A four-time winner this season, including the PGA Championship and the Open Championship, Scheffler has 12 consecutive top-10 finishes. He tied for third last week, one shot out of a playoff between Justin Rose and J.J. Spaun, which Rose won.
“I hit the ball nicely, did a lot of good stuff, and it definitely gives me some confidence going forward,” said Scheffler, whose best finish in the BMW was a tie for second in 2023.
McIlroy is a three-time FedExCup champion — 2016, 2019, 2022 – who is playing in his 15th BMW Championship. He won the 2012 BMW. He is making his first PGA Tour start since he finished tied for seventh behind Scheffler at Royal Portrush.
A win this week would be McIlroy’s 30th Tour title and fourth this season. His victories include the Masters, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship.
Spaun, the reigning U.S. Open champ, is third in the FedExCup standings, moving up from the No. 8 spot. Rose jumped from 25th to fourth in the standings with his 12th career Tour victory. At 45 years, 11 days, he became the oldest winner on Tour since Phil Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship at age 50 years, 11 months, 7 days. The 2018 FedExCup champ, Rose, won the 2011 BMW Championship.
Five players moved into the FedExCup top 50 following the FedEx St. Jude Championship: Kurt Kitayama, who recently won the 3M Championship, tied for ninth to move from 52nd to 37th. Bud Cauley’s tie for 14th elevated him from 53rd to 46th.
Rickie Fowler made the biggest jump into the top 50 thanks to his tie for sixth, going from 64th to 48th. Akshay Bhatia also tied for sixth to move up 16 places, going from 45th to 29th. Jhonattan Vegas tied for 14th to go from 56th to No. 49. J.T. Poston claimed the 50th spot, moving up from 51st with his tie for 22nd.
The five who moved out of the top 50 and ended their seasons were Aldrich Potgieter, who moved from 43rd to 52nd; Jordan Spieth (48 to 54); Jake Knapp (47-55); Wyndham Clark (49-56); and Min Woo Lee (50-57).
The top 30 players in the FedExCup after the BMW Championship advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, Ga. Those hovering around the top 30 include No. 25 Sungjae Im, Chris Gotterup (26), Jacob Bridgeman (27), 2023 FedExCup champ Viktor Hovland (No. 28), Bhatia (29), Lucas Glover (30), Sam Stevens (31), Ryan Gerard (32), Daniel Berger (33), Ryan Fox (34) and Taylor Pendrith (35).
This year, the Tour Championship will be played as a 72-hole stroke-play event, with all 30 players starting the tournament at even par. The player shooting the lowest score will win the FedExCup and the $10 million top prize.
