With the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs over, only 50 players remain in contention for the FedExCup, 49 of whom will tee it up at this week's BMW Championship after Sepp Straka withdrew on Monday. But another cutdown looms for the BMW Championship, where just 30 players will survive at Caves Valley and advance to the season-ending TOUR Championship.

So, who is in jeopardy of missing out on East Lake? Several TOUR Championship stalwarts find themselves on the outside looking in, with numerous other notables sitting precariously on the bubble. Ahead of the BMW Championship, here’s a look at the top players who are at risk of missing the top 30.

1. Xander Schauffele

• FedExCup position: 43rd
• Minimum finish needed to make the TOUR Championship: Solo 21st

No player in the last decade has played East Lake better than Xander Schauffele, yet the world No. 3 may not get the opportunity this year.

Schauffele, who won his debut at East Lake at the 2017 TOUR Championship, is outside the top 30 entering the BMW Championship and will need a solo 21st finish or better to have a chance to extend his season. The American has never missed the TOUR Championship in his career, nor finished outside the top 15 in the FedExCup.

It’s emblematic of Schauffele’s trying year, battling the lingering aftereffects of a rib injury that delayed his start to the season and squashed his momentum after winning two majors in 2024. It’s left Schauffele just a step or two below the level he’s consistently displayed over the last five years. The American has amassed a career low in top 10s (three) and top 25s (nine) without truly contending at any point in the season. Schauffele’s T7 at The Open Championship was his best result, but he finished a distant seven shots behind Scottie Scheffler.

Wondering why? Schauffele regressed off the tee and on the greens this season. After making great strides to become one of the top drivers in the game in ‘24, Schauffele ranks outside the top 100 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee in 2025, losing strokes for the first time in his career in the metric. While some of those issues could be attributed to Schauffele readjusting to his body post-injury, the putting struggles are more confounding. Schauffele has been, anecdotally and statistically, one of the best putters on TOUR since he earned his card in 2017. But he ranks 125th in putting this season. Below-average driving and putting isn’t a recipe for success and it has Schauffele fighting to keep his season alive.

Despite his underwhelming form, Schauffele remains dangerous if he reaches East Lake. He has not finished outside the top five at the TOUR Championship since 2018. And, in the Starting Strokes era, Schauffele twice finished with the low 72-hole score but did not win the FedExCup because he started too far back.

2. Viktor Hovland

• FedExCup position: 28th
• Minimum finish needed to make the TOUR Championship: N/A

When Hovland has played well this season, he’s shown the type of form that won him the FedExCup in 2023. But that form hasn’t materialized often.

Hovland has only two top 10s this season, tied for the second-fewest of any player still in the FedExCup Playoffs, though they were impactful results – winning the Valspar Championship and finishing third at the U.S. Open. That inconsistency has Hovland on the TOUR Championship bubble. While he could theoretically finish last at Caves Valley and still make it to East Lake, that reality is highly unlikely with the increased point totals available.

Hovland is elite with his iron play, ranking second on TOUR in SG: Approach this season. It’s the driver and putter that have limited his consistency. Hovland has lost strokes to the field off the tee in five of his last six starts, per DataGolf, and spent much of the first half of the year as a below-average putter.

The Norwegian will be the first one to tell you his game isn’t where he wants it to be. That Hovland has made it this deep into the season despite that is a testament to his talent. His floor is incredibly high, thanks to that ball-striking ability, even if other parts of his game are shaky. That’s helped him make the TOUR Championship every year of his career. Can he do enough at the BMW Championship to extend that streak another season?

3. Rickie Fowler

• FedExCup position: 48th
• Minimum finish needed to make the TOUR Championship: Solo 13th

There’s nobody happier to find himself on the bubble than Fowler, whose spot in the BMW Championship field was far from a certainty as he played the back nine of last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Fowler did enough to sneak into the top 50, finishing in a tie for sixth at TPC Southwind, and will need a similar performance to play his way into East Lake. At minimum, Fowler must finish solo 13th or better at Caves Valley. He’s done that only twice this season.

Fowler, once a staple in the TOUR Championship, has only advanced to East Lake once since 2019. Importantly, reaching East Lake would also earn Fowler an extra year of membership (through 2027), a significant perk for the 36-year-old who has struggled with year-to-year consistency.

4. Jason Day

• FedExCup position: 44th
• Minimum finish needed to make the TOUR Championship: Solo 20th

Like Fowler, Day is trying to punch his ticket back to East Lake – which has eluded him more often than you expect.

Day has made the TOUR Championship just once since 2018. He battled injuries and slumping form in those years since and has emerged from the other side as a consistent presence on TOUR, even if he has yet to return to the ceiling that made him world No. 1 earlier in his career.

The Australian spent much of the year inside the top 30 of the FedExCup, with a slew of notable finishes along the way. He finished T3 at The American Express and added T8 finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the Masters. Another T4 at the Travelers Championship pushed him up the standings further, but a recent loss of form has his season in jeopardy. Day missed the cut at the John Deere Classic and The Open and finished 56th in the 70-man field last week in Memphis. He needs to finish in a two-way tie for 20th or better to have a chance to play in Atlanta next week.

5. Matt Fitzpatrick

• FedExCup position: 40th
• Minimum finish needed to make the TOUR Championship: Two-way T21

One of the hottest golfers of the summer, Fitzpatrick will need to continue that to make it to East Lake. The Englishman had four straight top-eight finishes entering the Playoffs, including back-to-back T4s at the Genesis Scottish Open and the Open Championship, though he snapped that run with a T32 last week at TPC Southwind.

Fitzpatrick’s return to form coincides with his recent partnership with coach Mark Blackburn, who has helped the former U.S. Open winner recapture his confidence.

Fitzpatrick was outside the top 125 of the FedExCup midway through April before confiding in Blackburn. Fitzpatrick was in the mix at the RBC Heritage, one of the first events with Blackburn on his team, then finished T8 at the PGA Championship to begin the turnaround.

It’s impressive that Fitzpatrick has made it this far given his start to the year, and he will need at least a two-way tie for 21st to keep his season alive.