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    PGA Tour

    FedEx Cup Playoffs Top 70: Phil Mickelson advances despite missing cut at Liberty National

    August 23, 2021
    1335079822

    Sarah Stier

    Phil Mickelson had a quick exit at the playoff-opening Northern Trust, missing the cut at Liberty National. But his season will live for at least one more week.

    Mickelson was the last player into the BMW Championship Cup, advancing to the FedEx Cup Playoffs' second leg at No. 70 in the standings.

    Tony Finau, who knocked off Cameron Smith in a playoff on Monday to capture the Northern Trust, enters the BMW Championship first in the FedEx Cup standings. Finau is followed by World No. 1 Jon Rahm, Smith, Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas.

    But the FedEx Cup is a game within a game, and most of Monday's drama (at least until tournament's end) was on the "other" score board. The two biggest movers in the Cup race were Tom Hoge, whose T-4 at Liberty National moved him from 108th to 48th, and Alex Noren, who jumped 48 spots off a T-4 finish. Keith Mitchell also saw triumph on Monday, birdieing the final three holes to go from outside the top 70 (101st) to comfortably in.

    “I just love competing. I love playing golf. I love being out here and I reminded myself, two days playing in the last group with Justin Thomas, these are the nerves that you want. These are the kind of moments that you practice and play for,” Mitchell said after a T-9 finish. “That's kind of the attitude I had this week, and coming down the stretch with three birdies is the same kind of thing where you just really are just enjoying being out here and enjoying competing and trying to do your best.”

    Another notable leap came from Harry Higgs, who turned in a 66 on Saturday and 68 on Monday to keep playing for another week.

    “Just get another chance to go and win a golf tournament. I'm sure the position that I will have advanced in heading into next week, I pretty much have one choice, maybe I could finish second and make it to East Lake [for the Tour Championship],” Higgs said of advancing. “Again, I'm no good with numbers, I don't know how it works but I'm pretty sure if I win next week I will be into Atlanta, which is obviously a goal. It's a goal of all of ours and a goal of mine throughout last two years.”

    On the other end of that spectrum, a number of bubble players saw their bubbles burst. Matthew Fitzpatrick began the week at No. 60 but dropped to No. 73 after missing the cut. Fellow Englishman Tyrrell Hatton also went from the inside to out after failing to make the weekend. Matthew Wolff was the last man out at No. 71. Wolff, who took a mid-year sabbatical for his mental health, began this superseason with runner-up finishes at the 2020 U.S. Open and 2020 Shriners, but had just two top-20 finishes in 14 events in 2021.

    As for Mickelson, the 51-year-old will need to reverse his recent fortunes to reach the season finale at East Lake. Aside from that magical week at Kiawah, Mickelson’s had just one finish inside the top 60 (a T-17 at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational).

    Here are the top 70 players advancing to the BMW Championship.

    1. Tony Finau
    2. Jon Rahm
    3. Cam Smith
    4. Patrick Cantlay
    5. Justin Thomas
    6. Collin Morikawa
    7. Jordan Spieth
    8. Harris English
    9. Bryson DeChambeau
    10. Abraham Ancer
    11. Louis Oosthuizen
    12. Sam Burns
    13. Xander Schauffele
    14. Viktor Hovland
    15. Brooks Koepka
    16. Hideki Matsuyama
    17. Jason Kokrak
    18. Kevin Na
    19. Stewart Cink
    20. Corey Conners

    21. Joaquin Niemann
    22. Dustin Johnson
    23. Daniel Berger
    24. Scottie Scheffler
    25. Sungjae Im
    26. Patrick Reed
    27. Billy Horschel
    28. Rory McIlroy
    29. Charley Hoffman
    30. Max Homa
    31. Kevin Kisner
    32. Keegan Bradley
    33. Si Woo Kim
    34. Cameron Tringale
    35. Marc Leishman
    36. Cam Davis
    37. K.H.Lee
    38. Carlos Ortiz
    39. Brian Harman
    40. Hudson Swafford

    41. Lucas Glover
    42. Matt Jones
    43. Alex Noren
    44. Sergio Garcia
    45. Erik van Rooyen
    46. Lee Westwood
    47. Shane Lowry
    48. Tom Hoge
    49. Cam Champ
    50. Russell Henley
    51. Branden Grace
    52. Webb Simpson
    53. Maverick McNealy
    54. Paul Casey
    55. Emiliano Grillo
    56. Harold Varner III
    57. Robert Streb
    58. Aaron Wise
    59. Sebastian Munoz
    60. Chris Kirk
    61. Jhonattan Vegas
    62. Charl Schwartzel
    63. Keith Mitchell
    64. Kevin Streelman
    65. Mackenzie Hughes
    66. Patton Kizzire
    67. Talor Gooch
    68. Ryan Palmer
    69.Harry Higgs
    70. Phil Mickelson