These 5 famous players have just been eliminated from the PGA Tour playoffs

The US Open and Masters looming this fall, the FedEx Cup doesn’t have the same sense of end-of-season purpose as usual. However, the format gives us an easy way to rank who has had the best seasons and who has been out of their usual form. With that in mind, it was fascinating to watch the bubble boys this week at TPC Boston and see who advanced – and who didn’t! – at the BMW championship next week.

Eventually, Louis Oosthuizen took the final spot when he sneaked in at No. 70 in the FedEx Cup ranking with a bird at no. 18. Doc Redman was the first to come out at no. 71. Here are five big name players whose Tour seasons have officially ended:

Brooks Koepka

FedEx Cup Final Standings: 104

How did he do this week? Not well. Koepka didn’t make it to the starting gate at TPC Boston, WDing mid-week. It appears that the hip and knee are recurring problems.

Highlight of the season: That performance in Memphis (T2 and a near-win) reintroduced Koepka to the world and proved that there are weeks where he can contend over pure determination.

What’s next? Some adequate recovery, hopefully. Koepka has been on a busy schedule since the PGA Tour rebooted, but he never seemed quite right when it came to health, even in his T2 at WGC-Memphis. The US Open and Masters would be much better with a healthy Brooks Koepka.

Phil Mickelson

FedEx Cup Final Standings: 75

How did he do this week? He shot 74-68 to miss the cut, although he insisted he feels good.

Highlight of the season: Phil was a pest or a phamine this year, but he scored two top 3 places on the Tour, a 3rd solo at Pebble Beach and a T2 at WGC-Memphis. However, his Match II commentary and PGA Championship broadcast cameo were probably just as memorable.

What’s next? Funny you should ask. Mickelson is actually about to start tomorrow, making his PGA Tour Champions debut. The Charles Schwab series at the Ozarks National just got much juicier; this is huge for the whole tour and it also means we will have some more golf action at the start of the week.

Justin stood up

FedEx Cup Final Standings: 91

How did he do this week? It had its moments, actually! Rose needed a furious rally to make the cut and keep the hopes of a playoff alive, and she got it, birding three birdies on her last five holes to cut the number. Then he shot 67-67, which would have been enough to fight, a few weeks, but only resulted in a T25 in this week’s birdie-friendly setup.

Highlight of the season: Rose’s best tournament result actually came in the first event of the PGA Tour restart when she finished T3 at the Colonial. Instead of kicking off Rose’s season, though, the event was the start of an upside-down stretch that included four missed cuts in five weeks. Hardly the Justin Rose we are used to seeing.

What’s next? Rose finished T3 at last year’s US Open in Pebble Beach. Will he be able to rekindle the magic of Winged Foot in September? It seems unlikely we’ll see him at Safeway the week before.

Jordan Spieth

FedEx Cup Final Standings: 107

How did he do this week? Spieth’s entire season was best summed up from his first round at the Northern Trust, where he was 3 to 8 and then played his next five holes in 6 under. With Spieth, moments of brilliance and crippling setbacks seem to come in equal parts. He ended up missing a shot.

Highlight of the season: Maybe he returned to the CJ Cup last October, when he opened 70-65 and stayed close to contention all week. At that point, his season seemed so full of promise. Instead, his T8 finish that week ended his best of the season.

What’s next? Dude, if you have any ideas just let me know.

Rickie Fowler

FedEx Cup Final Standings: 94

How did he do this week? He made the cut but never made much noise over the weekend and finished T49.

Highlight of the season: This has been a particularly strange season for Fowler, who we have just gotten used to seeing a lot of tournaments competing year after year. This season, however, Fowler’s only top-10s have come in a T10 at American Express and a T5 at the Tournament of Champions. So we’re going to send Rickie off of the traditional Tour schedule and assume her season highlight got married last fall.

What’s next? As shocking as it is to see Jordan Spieth go down to world number 63, it’s probably stranger to see Fowler at number 35. I expect that number to improve; his game is just too solid not to. Even during a shaky season of play, Fowler was still better than the Tour average in virtually every aspect of the game. Contention will surely follow.

Below you can see the last five incoming and the first five outgoing.

LAST FIVE IN

66. Jason Kokrak

67. Maverick McNealy

68. Max Homa

69. Charles Howell III

70. Louis Oosthuizen

FIRST FIVE OUT

71. Doc Redman

72. Sung Kang

73. Denny McCarthy

74. Troy Merritt

75. Phil Mickelson