MEMPHIS, Tenn. – There’s a lot to play for Sunday, multiple points of interest beyond the top of the leaderboard. Players will be competing for their spot in next week’s BMW Championship, an important achievement that ensures starts in all of next year’s Signature Events (and keeps FedExCup hopes alive).

With this year’s move to a winner-take-all format at the TOUR Championship, and with all 30 players starting on level footing in the FedExCup Season finale, there truly is a “survive and advance” philosophy at play. All 30 players who advance to East Lake will have an equal shot to capture the FedExCup.

That’s what makes Sunday’s final round at TPC Southwind so important. Players will be competing to keep their season alive, and to set up next season, as well. To help you navigate the myriad storylines at play, here’s a quick look at the five players with the most at stake Sunday.

1. Tommy Fleetwood

We all know the stats. We’ve all seen the heartbreak.

Fleetwood is in position for one heck of a redemption story, entering the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship with a one-stroke lead over fellow Englishman Justin Rose.

Fleetwood is ninth in the FedExCup standings thanks to his consistent play in 2025 – 12 top-25s in 16 starts – but another high finish isn’t what he needs. He’s seeking that elusive first victory on the PGA TOUR.

“I would way rather be there and fail than not be there at all,” Fleetwood said Saturday. “So either way it's a good thing. Yeah, it hurts when it doesn't happen for you … but I practice so hard at my game, and I work so hard and I enjoy being out here four days like this Sunday.”

Fleetwood has six runner-up finishes on TOUR, and the most recent was likely the most painful. Taking a one-shot lead to the final hole of the Travelers Championship, Fleetwood three-putted for bogey while Keegan Bradley made a table-turning birdie and a one-stroke victory. The last hole was the first time Bradley led all day.

Fleetwood started Saturday with a three-shot lead over Rose, and held the same advantage entering the day’s final hole. That’s when a two-shot swing dramatically changed the complexion of Sunday’s final round. Fleetwood made bogey after missing his first fairway of the day. Rose added a birdie on 18 and now trails by just a single stroke.

2.Scottie Scheffler

Surely Scheffler doesn’t need another victory but a win Sunday would ensure he has the most victories on TOUR this season. It would be the third time in the past four years that Scheffler has achieved that feat.

Scheffler will start the final round two behind Fleetwood after shooting a 65 that was a testament to his scrambling ability. Scheffler hit just half his fairways Saturday and 11 greens, but it was several key par saves and clutch putts that limited him to just one bogey.

A win would be Scheffler’s fifth of the season (and fifth in his last nine starts). It would go a long way toward Scheffler earning a fourth consecutive PGA TOUR Player of the Year trophy. It also would require Rory McIlroy to sweep the final two FedExCup Playoffs events to match Scheffler’s win total this season. His four wins already this season include two majors and a Signature Event. He also tied the PGA TOUR’s 72-hole scoring record in his eight-shot win at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.

Scheffler’s worst finish in his last 11 starts is T8. It’s worth remembering that Scheffler’s offseason was interrupted by his surprise hand injury, one that delayed his return to the TOUR and required a few starts to shake off the rust. But once he got back in the groove, he’s looked just like the dominant Scheffler who won nine times worldwide in 2024. Another win would provide further proof.

3. Chris Kirk

Chris Kirk’s Cinderella summer run is continuing at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He will enter the final round in sixth place after shooting a Saturday 66. After being the only player to play his way into the top 70 at last week’s Wyndham Championship, Kirk now has a chance to crack the top 50 and earn his spot at the BMW.

Kirk is currently projected to jump from 61st to 48th in the FedExCup.

It was only two months ago that he ranked 134th in the FedExCup. He considered skipping the U.S. Open to save himself from Oakmont’s torture test.

“My putting felt terrible and my swing just felt kind of mediocre,” he said. Kirk started working that week with putting coach Tim Overton and finished T12 in the U.S. Open, his best major finish in three years.

Then he finished second in his next start, losing a playoff to Aldrich Potgieter at the Rocket Classic. Kirk was still on the outside of the FedExCup Playoffs picture when he arrived at last week’s Wyndham Championship. His T5 finish made him the only player to move inside the FedExCup’s top 70 last week, the threshold to qualify for the Playoffs.

Kirk, winner of the PGA TOUR Courage Award in November 2023, won the opening Signature Event of 2024, The Sentry. It was the most recent of his six PGA TOUR victories and qualified him for last year’s TOUR Championship. It was the first time in a decade, and just the second time in his career, that the 40-year-old had earned a spot at East Lake in his birthplace of Atlanta. A good round Sunday could lock up a return to Atlanta, as well.

4. Rickie Fowler

Fowler also is in sixth place, and clinging to the 49th spot in the projected standings. He needs a top-10 finish to advance to next week and regain his spot in the Signature Events.

He had to rely on sponsor exemptions into those fields this year after finishing 64th in last year’s FedExCup. He’s played better of late, parlaying a T7 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday into a spot in The Open, where he finished T14. Those finishes have helped him move up the standings after sitting outside the top 100 in May.

He was 64th in the standings this week, but is currently projected to make the second-biggest jump of the week (Rose is projected to move from 25th to eighth in the FedExCup).

“It's going to take a good round of golf,” Fowler said. “We'll focus on trying to chase our way up the board. I need to play well tomorrow to get myself into next week. We'll focus on one thing and just playing some good golf.”

5. Jordan Spieth/Wyndham Clark

These are two names that you associate with Signature Events, but right now they are two of the five names projected to fall out of the top 50 in the FedExCup standings.

Clark, who won a major and two Signature Events in the previous two seasons, is projected to fall from 49th to 53rd in the standings. He’ll start Sunday in a tie for 30th place after shooting a 2-over 72 that dropped him down the leaderboard. Clark had come on strong of late, posting three consecutive top-15s, including a T4 at The Open, entering this week. But he’ll need a good round Sunday to keep his season alive.

Spieth, a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedExCup champ, is projected to drop from 48th to 54th in the standings. He will start the final round in 41st place. For both players, missing out on BMW also means their opportunity to impress Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley comes to an end.

A lot will change Sunday, but ShotLink currently projects Clark as just one shot outside of a spot in the FedExCup’s top 50, while Spieth sits three shots outside the line. Jhonattan Vegas will start Sunday in the projected 50th spot, with J.T. Poston right behind him.

The projections bubble

Projected to move in
Bud Cauley (T10, from 53rd to 43rd)
Kurt Kitayama (T16, from 52nd to 47th)
Chris Kirk (T6, from 61st to 46th)
Rickie Fowler (T6, from 64th to 49th)
Jhonattan Vegas (T16, from 56th to 50th)

Projected to move out
Aldrich Potgieter (T67, from 43rd to 52nd)
Wyndham Clark (T30, from 49th to 53rd)
Jordan Spieth (T41, from 48th to 54th)
Jake Knapp (T59, from 47th to 56th)
Min Woo Lee (69th, from 50th to 57th)