RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Spieth set a target of 67 for the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, certain that would be enough for him to crack the top 50 in the FedEx Cup and advance to next week. Turns out he would have only needed a 69, and even that was out of his reach.
Spieth and Keith Mitchell, who was up to his knees in water on the 18th trying to salvage his postseason, narrowly missed out advancing in the PGA Tour postseason Sunday, losing a chance to be guaranteed to play in all the $20 million signature events in 2027.
One birdie over his last three holes would have done it for Spieth. Mitchell would have needed to shave two shots from his score. He made bogey from the water on the 18th.
“I just feel like I’m kind of getting back to playing really good golf, like it’s close to kicking off, and I’m not going to play a tournament for a long time,” Spieth said after closing with three straight pars for an even-par 70.
Spieth came into the first playoff event at No. 54 and was projected to need something around the top 15 — depending on others around him — to make it to the BMW Championship for the first time since 2023.
He made it through the worrisome stretch of holes — Nos. 11 through 14 at the TPC Southwind — with a pair of bogeys and a 30-foot birdie putt.
“If you can get through there unscathed, you know you're looking at some opportunities on the other side,” Spieth said.
But he tugged his tee shot on the 15th far enough to the left that it found the water, leading to bogey. His chip from behind the green on the par-5 16th was too strong and rolled off the green, and he missed a 15-foot birdie putt. He missed a birdie from about that distance on the 17th.
Needing a birdie on the 18th, he went from a patch of dirt right of the fairway just over the green, still a putter in hand from 35 feet. He started walking before the long birdie putt finished short of the cup, giving him a par.
“I just didn’t execute enough shots and ... a couple bounces could have gone one way or the other,” he said. “I needed to be almost flawless today.”
Mitchell, who has never been among the top 30 to reach the Tour Championship in his nine years on the PGA Tour, started at No. 49 this week and was on the bubble seemingly all week. He said he never looked at a leaderboard until walking off the 17th green.
If he was safe, he could have played out to the right, away from the water, knowing a bogey wouldn't hurt him. But he was right on the projected bubble of top 50. He took on the shot. He thought it was ideal, but it barely cleared the water, and hopped below the hazard line on the bank of grass.
For Mitchell, there was no option. He removed his shoes and rolled up his pants, took his stance in the water up to his calves and gave it a shot. It bounced short and took a hop to the left, riding the bank down into the water. He did well to make bogey for a 72. In the end, even a par would have left him less than a point short of Matt McCarty at No. 50.
“I thought it was perfect when I hit it. Caught a little bit of a gust, and it came up that short,” Mitchell said. “The second shot was obviously interesting, and I just didn’t play it far enough right.”
The new points system that puts an emphasis on season performance means the postseason is not nearly as volatile. Sungjae Im, who started at No. 53 and started the final round tied for second, comfortably advanced.
Mitchell was the only one from the top 50 to fall out.
Maverick McNealy came in at No. 50 and was on the bubble all afternoon, played bogey-free on the back nine with two birdies for a 69 to tie for 19th — same position as Spieth — to secure his spot among the top 50. McNealy figured he was out when he tied for 63rd in the 69-man field. He made it on the number when Mitchell and Spieth couldn't catch him.
“I think the top 50 number is probably the most important number on the PGA Tour right now,” McNealy said. “I’m excited to get to St. Louis and just take a Hail Mary swing to see if I can get into the Tour Championship, which is the goal every year.”
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