Rickie Fowler has the distinction of being this week's "Bubble Boy" as he enters the BMW Championship, the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Fowler, 37, will tee off at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis at No. 30 in the season-long points standings, and only the top 30 advance to East Lake in Atlanta for the Tour Championship.
A lot is riding on the line for the 50-man field this week. While making the BMW Championship came with a big carrot — entry into all of the signature events next season — making the FedEx Cup finale offers its own set of rewards. The field will be whittled down to 30, all of whom will qualify for next year's men's majors. All 30 also get a two-year PGA Tour exemption. More: 2026 BMW Championship payout, purse: How much is on the line? What does the winner get? The Tour also will pay out nearly $100 million in FedEx Cup bonus money after this week. Scheffler already is a mathematical lock to be No. 1 after the BMW and collect another $22 million. In other words, this week is kind of a big deal. Plus, make it to Atlanta, and for the second straight year in a row there will be no staggered start, meaning FedEx Cup points leader Scottie Scheffler doesn't get an advantage. Everyone starts at even, and the low 72-hole stroke-play aggregate score takes home the trophy, even if it happens to be the Bubble Boy. Let's take a look at the minimum finish required for players to make it to East Lake.
Rank PlayerMin Finish 28 Kitayama, Kurt Solo 49th 29 Cauley, Bud Solo 48th 30 Fowler, Rickie Solo 50th 31 Woodland, Gary Solo 48th 32 Poston, J.T. Solo 31st 33 Højgaard, Nicolai 3-Way T18 34 Noren, Alex Solo 17th 35 Knapp, Jake 3-Way T16 36 MacIntyre, Robert 3-Way T15 37 Rai, Aaron Solo 12th 38 Griffin, Ben Solo 11th 39 Straka, Sepp Solo 11th 40 Im, Sungjae Solo 8th 41 Thorbjornsen, Michael Solo 8th 42 Echavarria, Nico 2-Way 7th 43 Cantlay, Patrick Solo 7th 44 Thomas, Justin Solo 7th 45 Hisatsune, Ryo 3-Way 2nd 46 Theegala, Sahith 3-Way 2nd 47 Brennan, Michael 2-Way 2nd 48 Cole, Eric 2-Way 2nd 49 McNealy, Maverick 2-Way 2nd 50 McCarty, Matt Solo 2nd
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour. This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rickie Fowler faces FedEx Cup playoff pressure as the 'Bubble Boy' at BMW Championship