Three of four Australians progress to second round of PGA Tour playoffs with $70m up for grabs

Only one of the four Australians in the $70m PGA Tour playoffs didn’t make it to the second event and the results could have other ramifications.

Jason Day has progressed to the second event of the PGA Tour playoffs. Picture: Mike Mulholland/Getty Images

They shared in more than $1m in prize money despite not winning but progressing to the next stage of the lucrative PGA Tour playoffs is about more than money for the three Australians who are now still alive in the season-ending showdown.

Adam Scott, the only man to play in every iteration of the playoffs since their inception in 2007, was the leading Aussie at the St Jude Championship, finishing in a tie for 18th, 10 shots behind the winner, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who lost the lead midway through the final round but recovered to snare the $5.4m prize.

Olympic teammates Min Woo Lee and Jason Day were next best, just a shot further back, while Cameron Davis ensured a nervous wait for himself after making a double-bogey on his final hole to finish in a tie for 40th that left him on the cut-off bubble on the points list to qualify for the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

A double bogey on 18 could be the difference in Cam Davis' #FedExCup season.

On the tee, he was ranked 48th in the #FedExCup Standings. He's now projected 50th.

All he can do is wait to see if he’ll have a spot @BMWChamps. pic.twitter.com/PG7QszZhPG

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 18, 2024

But Davis was eventually among three of the four Australians to progress to the BMW Championship, from which the top 30 of 50 players will make the Tour Championship in Atlanta, with $70m in prizemoney up for grabs.

Lee, playing his first full season on the PGA Tour, was the only one to not progress and the result is significant, as it’s now likely he’ll need a captain’s pick to make his first Presidents Cup team.

After the latest results, Lee is eighth in the rankings for a the team that will also include Matsuyama, who won a bronze medal in Paris before winning in Memphis.

Scott is fifth on the rankings, and in line for a staggering 12th Presidents Cup team, while Day is fourth and Davis, who made his debut in the biennial team event in 2022, is ninth.

They are the only Australians in line to make the team, with captain Mike Weir having put a line through LIV golfers, a cohort that includes major champion Cameron Smith.

Six players will automatically qualify, with the International Team using the Official World Golf Ranking, while the next six picks are at Weir’s discretion.

Min Woo Lee has missed progression to the next the FedEx Cup event. Picture: Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

Having sat on the bubble throughout the event, Davis was upset with how his tournament finished in Memphis, knowing what was on the line.

“I’ve done it every year for the last three years,” he said.

“I feel like I’m constantly in this position … which doesn’t feel right, and it’s extra frustrating right now that I finished the way I did after playing the way I did all the way up until that point.”

Team USA will boast six of the world’s top 10, including the No.1 and No.2 players on the planet in Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.

The Presidents Cup is being held at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada from September 24-29.