Winners and Losers From the BMW Championship: Rory McIlroy Makes a Big Statement

The second round of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs is in the books, with Wyndham Clark getting his third win of the season in impressive fashion at the BMW Championship in St. Louis and putting his name at the top of the Player of the Year conversation in the process.

But there was another big name who made a statement over the weekend even though he was unable to catch Clark—Rory McIlroy. The No. 2 player in the world had a disastrous showing in Memphis last week where he finished better than only two other players in the field. He bounced back in St. Louis, however, finishing in a tie for third and now seems poised to be a factor at the Tour Championship this week in Atlanta.

Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the BMW Championship.

Winner: Wyndham Clark for staying red hot

Clark has been on fire the past few months and that continued in St. Louis where he carried a five-shot lead into Sunday and then held off a few big names to win by three shots. Clark won the CJ Cup in late May and then won the U.S. Open at Shinnecock in June. Now he has his third victory of the year and is back to being a real problem every time he tees it up. While Clark missed the cut at the British Open last month and then again at the Rocket Classic the following week, he has six top-10 finishes in his last 10 events and will be one of the favorites this week in Atlanta. Not a bad little run for Clark, who is now ranked No. 5 in the world.

Winner: Rory McIlroy for showing he actually does care

McIlroy made it seem like he didn’t care to much about the FedEx Cup Playoffs, as he said last month that he really didn’t see any point in playing the first two events. He then showed up in Memphis last week and finished in 66th place. While he stumbled down the stretch on Sunday in St. Louis with a bad bogey on the par-5 17th hole that cost him a shot at pushing Clark on the final hole, McIlroy still finished tied for third and showed that his game is ready for the Tour Championship. The PGA Tour must have loved seeing one of its biggest stars in contention on Sunday, and hopefully that continues this week in Atlanta.

"I think [Rory McIlroy] is absolutely locked in on this."@TrevorImmelman believes Rory McIlroy has tons of momentum heading to East Lake next weekend. 👀 pic.twitter.com/J2EJHbnhip
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) August 23, 2026

Loser: Rickie Fowler for finding himself on the wrong side of the bubble

Rickie Fowler started the week in 30th place in the FedEx Cup standings but was unable to hold onto the spot and will not be in the Tour Championship after finishing T37 at the BMW Championship.

Players falling out of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings who failed to advance to the TOUR Championship:

Kurt Kitayama (T26); from No. 28 to No. 31
Rickie Fowler (T37); from No. 30 to No. 33
Bud Cauley (T44); from No. 29 to No. 34
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 23, 2026

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Winner: Gary Woodland for topping a drive and making all of us amateurs feel better about ourselves. And for making the Tour Championship.

Gary Woodland has been one of the best stories on the PGA Tour this season and now he’s heading to the Tour Championship after playing his way into the final event with a T4 finish at the BMW Championship.

He did have one funny moment on Sunday that all of us weekend hackers can relate to when he topped his drive into the creek in front of the tee box on the par-4 9th hole. He went on to make double bogey on that hole but then finished his round with nine straight pars to punch his ticket to Atlanta.

Gary Woodland tops his tee shot on No. 9 😬

"That [creek] has never been in play, any tournament they've ever had here." - Jim Nantz pic.twitter.com/Y11rBi09mU
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) August 23, 2026

Woodland will be an easy guy to root for this week.

Loser: Justin Thomas for falling short of the Tour Championship

Justin Thomas has been one of the biggest stars on the PGA Tours for years now but he was unable to climb into the top 30 and will not be in Atlanta this week. Thomas needed a big week in St. Louis and while he finished T16, it wasn’t enough and now his season is over.

Winner: Alex Fitzpatrick for making the Tour Championship in what has been a wild year for him

Alex Fitzpatrick didn’t have his PGA Tour card a few months ago but now he’s heading to the Tour Championship despite finishing T44 in St. Louis. Fitzpatrick has had an incredible run since winning the Zurich Classic with his brother, Matt, in April. He has taken advantage of his opportunity by collecting four top-10 finishes in 13 events and is now amazingly one of the 30 players heading to Atlanta.

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Winners: Patrick Cantlay and Robert MacIntyre for jumping into the top 30

Patrick Cantlay and Robert MacIntyre joined Woodland as the only three players who used strong showings at the BMW Championship to get into the Tour Championship.

Players moving into the top 30 in the FedExCup standings who advance to the TOUR Championship:

Gary Woodland (T4); from No. 31 to No. 18
Patrick Cantlay (2nd); from No. 43 to No. 19
Robert MacIntyre (T7); from No. 36 to No. 25
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 23, 2026

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