Dunlap in, Kim out as FedEx Cup playoffs down to 50

South Korean Tom Kim's loss was Nick Dunlap's and Keegan Bradley's gain on Sunday, when the results of the FedEx St. Jude Championship helped finalize the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama won the tournament by birdieing his final two holes, and he jumped from eighth to third in the FedEx Cup points standings. But every shot mattered for players not in contention for the victory, because the top 50 after the St. Jude not only qualified for next week's BMW Championship, but they also earned entry into all eight PGA Tour signature events in 2025.

Win No. 10 for Hideki at the @FedExChamp! 🏆

Matsuyama is victorious at the first event of the #FedExCup Playoffs. pic.twitter.com/LWiLnvuuUV
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 18, 2024

Bradley, the captain of the US Ryder Cup team in 2025, entered the week 39th in FedEx Cup points but looked to be heading the wrong way by finishing the tournament 1 over. However, Bradley landed at No 50 after Kim's late stumble pushed him to the wrong side of the playoff bubble, the first man out at No 51.

Kim finished his final round with a bogey and two straight double bogeys, plummeting from 6 under to 1 under for the tournament. It's all but certain that he would have made the cut for the top 50 if he'd had a steadier finish.

How it all shook out in Memphis.

Next stop: @BMWChamps ✈️ pic.twitter.com/yDgEhL6KcD
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 19, 2024

Kim said he played so much in 2024, including the Olympics earlier this month, that he lost some mental sharpness over the past few weeks.

"I told myself before the day that if I didn't play well, I really felt like I was going to finish 51," Kim said. "I kind of told myself, ‘If that happens, I've done everything I could to be inside that top 50 and hopefully give myself a chance at Tour Championship.' But I couldn't, and I'm going to look forward to a really good offseason because I'm pretty tired."

One huge beneficiary this week was Dunlap, who shot up from No 67 to No 48 in the standings thanks to a T5 finish at the St. Jude.

The PGA Tour rookie has two victories this season, but his first – The American Express in January – came when he was an amateur, and therefore didn't accrue him FedEx Cup points by rule.

Dunlap was in contention on Sunday before settling for a 1-under 69. He finished four strokes behind Matsuyama.

"I was a train wreck," Dunlap said. "I'm not going to lie to you. I was arguably the most nervous I've ever been, to be honest. I just didn't want the season to end. I've been having so much fun."

"I was a train wreck. I'm not going to lie to you. I was arguably the most nervous I've ever been, to be honest. I just didn't want the season to end. I've been having so much fun ... However that would have shaked out, I would have been super proud of myself."

Nick Dunlap will… pic.twitter.com/ubNC8clP1R
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 18, 2024

The 50 players who moved on to the BMW Championship in Castle Rock, Colo., are as follows (in order of FedEx Cup points):

1. Scottie Scheffler

2. Xander Schauffele

3. Hideki Matsuyama

4. Collin Morikawa

5. Rory McIlroy

6. Wyndham Clark

7. Ludvig Aberg

8. Sahith Theegala

9. Patrick Cantlay

10. Sungjae Im

11. Shane Lowry