Jordan Spieth narrowly missed advancing to the next round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, falling out of the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. This miss costs him a guaranteed spot in all of the PGA Tour's $20 million signature events in 2027.
Spieth entered the final round at TPC Southwind ranked 54th and needed a performance around the top 15 to make it to the BMW Championship for the first time since 2023. He closed with an even-par 70, a score that proved insufficient.
He faltered in the closing holes, bogeying the 15th after his tee shot found the water. A chip from behind the green on the par-5 16th rolled off and he missed the subsequent birdie putt. Further missed birdie opportunities on the 17th and 18th holes, where he needed one more birdie to advance, proved costly. He finished with three consecutive pars.
"I just didn't execute enough shots and ... a couple bounces could have gone one way or the other," Spieth said. "I needed to be almost flawless today."
Keith Mitchell, who began the week at No. 49, also narrowly missed the cut, falling out of the top 50. Mitchell found himself in a precarious position on the 18th hole, needing to avoid a costly mistake. His decision to play a shot from the water up to his knees resulted in a bogey, ultimately leaving him just shy of qualifying.
"I thought it was perfect when I hit it. Caught a little bit of a gust, and it came up that short," Mitchell said of his approach from the water. "The second shot was obviously interesting, and I just didn’t play it far enough right."
The PGA Tour's new point system places a greater emphasis on season-long performance, making the playoff structure less volatile. Sungjae Im, who started at No. 53, advanced comfortably after finishing tied for second in the final round. Mitchell was the only player among the initial top 50 to drop out of the projected qualifying spots.