Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama both out

For PGA Tour players, being inside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup Standings now comes with more than just a spot in the field at the BMW Championship.

Earlier this year the PGA Tour’s board ratified a new approach for the Tour’s 2024 schedule that will see reduced fields in new designated events that feature increased purses up to $20 million. Fields in designated events will contain between 70 and 78 players and be largely comprised of the top 50 players who qualify for the BMW Championship during the previous season’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, adding some extra intrigue to the season-long race that was desperately needed.

Midway through major season, with the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club on the horizon and the Memorial Tournament in the rearview, here’s a look at some players who are currently in – and out – of next year’s designated events.

FedEx Cup: Full standings here

Bubble watch

Check out the last 10 in and first 10 out as the points stand after the 2023 Memorial Tournament, where No. 40 Hayden Buckley (754 points) and No. 60 J.J. Spaun (549) are separated by a little more than 200 points.

Biggest movers

Despite coming up short in the playoff to Viktor Hovland at the Memorial, Denny McCarthy was the big mover of the week, jumping 21 spots to No. 26 to find a little breathing room from the top-50 cutoff. Hovland’s fourth win on Tour saw him move up 10 spots to fourth.

No golfers played their way in or out of the top 50 this week, but the top 30 or so players are beginning to pull away and secure their safety.

Notables inside the top 50

The usual suspects this season of Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa are all Nos. 1-3 in the standings, with the newcomer Hovland in fourth and Tony Finau dropping to fifth.

Kurt Kitayama (14) has reached as high as fifth this season but moved outside the top 10 this week.

Thomas Detry has come out swinging…