FedExCup update: Chris Kirk enters final round on Playoffs precipice
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Highlights | Round 3 | Wyndham
Written by Kevin Prise
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Chris Kirk declined to meet the media after Saturday’s third round of the Wyndham Championship, but his silence spoke volumes about what this weekend means to him.
Kirk entered the week at No. 73 on the season-long FedExCup standings, on the precipice of the FedExCup Playoffs but needing a strong showing at Sedgefield Country Club to crack the top 70 and maintain hopes of qualifying for next season’s Signature Events (via the top 50 after the Playoffs’ first leg, the FedEx St. Jude Championship). He’s tied for third at 12-under through 54 holes, and although he’s eight strokes back of leader Cameron Young, he’s projected to move to No. 59 on the FedExCup and advance to Memphis.
On the surface, it would seem taking two minutes to offer some general commentary about the round would be a layup for a seasoned veteran like Kirk, who has made 374 career PGA TOUR starts, including six titles, and accrued more than $34 million in earnings. He finished second on the 2014 FedExCup and has represented the U.S. Team at the Presidents Cup. Aside from maybe winning a major, he has essentially done everything there is to do in professional golf. He could retire now and his career would be considered, by any objective measure, a rousing success.
But there’s more at stake this week than might meet the eye: A strong showing at the Wyndham (coupled with good play next week in Memphis) could mean a spot in next season’s Signature Events, more opportunities to test his game against the world’s best into his 40s. Maybe he does have more to prove in this game. Maybe he knows Sunday could be an inflection point, providing a cascade of momentum that leads to bigger moments in the coming years. Why risk fielding some interview questions that could put even a slight dent in his psyche?

Chris Kirk makes birdie on No. 17 at Wyndham
In that context, Kirk’s decision to decline media Saturday makes sense. He’s not ready to take a victory lap just for reaching this point – even though his ascent to the FedExCup Playoffs bubble certainly deserves some respect.
After standing a distant No. 130 on the FedExCup after missing the cut at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday in late May, he was so disenchanted with his game that he thought about skipping the U.S. Open (for which he was exempt by qualifying for last year’s TOUR Championship). He thought better of it, knowing that his game could click at any turn, and he proceeded to finish T12 at brutish Oakmont. Then he finished runner-up in a playoff at the Rocket Classic. He added a T14 at last week’s 3M Open before heading to Sedgefield Country Club, a venerable Donald Ross venue with slick, sloping greens not unlike those at his home course, Athens (Georgia) Country Club.
It has built toward a Sunday where he’ll be squarely on the bubble for a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs, meaning ample CBS cameras and attention. We don’t need his words to know there’s plenty at stake – on the contrary, his decision not to speak perhaps says even more.
Kirk has yet to record a top-10 finish at the Wyndham (this is his 10th career start at the event), but it’s not surprising to see him near the top of the leaderboard. The even-keeled Kirk doesn’t overpower a golf course off the tee, but brute strength isn’t needed at Sedgefield, which measures just 7,131 yards and for the most part takes driver out of players’ hands (Ben Griffin hit just one driver, for example, in Thursday’s opening round). Although he ranks 49th of 75 players who made the cut in driving distance this week, he’s a strong 18th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, and he’s clicking with his irons at No. 3 in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green.
It has led him to a spot in Sunday’s final pairing at Sedgefield alongside defending Wyndham Championship winner Aaron Rai, and it sets him up to qualify for the Playoffs with a steady final round at Sedgefield.
Even though we can’t know for sure, we imagine Kirk looks forward to the challenge Sunday presents with a Playoffs spot on the line.
The top 70 on the season-long FedExCup standings after the Wyndham Championship will qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. Here's a look at the players projected to move inside and outside the top 70 after Saturday’s third round:
Projected in
Chris Kirk (FedExCup No. 73, projected No. 59): Kirk rallied from a double bogey at the par-4 second hole in the Wyndham’s third round to carve out a third-round, 3-under 67, a strong complement to his opening two rounds of 66-65. He stands T3 into the final round and will take center stage Sunday in pursuit of a FedExCup Playoffs berth.
Davis Thompson (FedExCup No. 78, projected No. 68): Like Kirk, another Georgia Bulldog projected to move inside the top 70 in the Regular Season finale. Thompson has carded rounds of 66-65-69 and stands T7 into the final round, which for now is enough to crack the top 70 and qualify for the Playoffs. It’s a tenuous spot, though, as Thompson would fall to projected No. 72 with a single bogey.
Gary Woodland (FedExCup No. 75, projected No. 70): Woodland has been one of the feel-good stories of the PGA TOUR season. He returned to action in 2024 following surgery to remove a lesion on his brain, received the PGA TOUR Courage Award for his resilience earlier this year, and has improved his competitive level throughout the 2025 season (highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Texas Children’s Houston Open). After finishing No. 155 on the FedExCup following the Wyndham Championship a year ago, he has a legitimate chance to qualify for this year’s Playoffs after opening with rounds of 67-64-70 at Sedgefield. He grew emotional in an interview with CBS’ Amanda Balionis late Saturday afternoon in North Carolina, thinking about what a postseason appearance would mean to him. He’s tied for ninth at the Wyndham and doesn’t have much wiggle room; one bogey would drop him to projected No. 72. But he has a fighting chance.
Projected out
Erik van Rooyen (FedExCup No. 64, projected No. 71): After withdrawing during the second round due to injury, the South African is at the mercy of the projections Sunday afternoon as he awaits his Playoffs fate.
Cam Davis (FedExCup No. 67, projected No. 72): After three straight missed cuts, the Australian made the weekend at Sedgefield with rounds of 68-68, ensuring he would maintain some semblance of control of his Playoffs destiny, and he added a third-round 69 to stand T36 into the final round. Although he’s projected outside the number at the moment, he would project to No. 67 with just one birdie. Davis’ plight is emblematic of the bubble volatility to come.
Byeong Hun An (FedExCup No. 69, projected No. 74): The South Korean missed the cut with rounds of 68-72 at Sedgefield and is unlikely to make the Playoffs, barring a confluence of events falling in his favor Sunday.