Justin Thomas is Losing More Ground in the FedExCup Playoff Race

Justin Thomas entered the 3M Open for the first time in his career in order to gain points to reach the FedExCup playoffs.

Instead, the 2022 PGA Championship winner missed the cut and fell further behind the cut line for the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in two weeks.

Thomas entered the weekend at No. 75 in the standings and dropped four spots to 79 after the early end to his trip to Minnesota.

Remember, only the top 70 make the playoffs this year…

It looked like he might make the cut until the 18^th hole (his ninth) on Friday. He hit two balls into the water on the par-5 hole, and he carded a double bogey on the fourth hole.

That led to an even-par 71 to go with his two-under 69 on Thursday, which wasn’t enough to get to the third round.

5 golfers (Justin Thomas!) who shockingly missed the cut at the 3M Open https://t.co/EzyNIGIXJ5 pic.twitter.com/v0FZVGaA30

— For The Win (@ForTheWin) July 30, 2023

On the line for the 2017 FedExCup champion is a streak of seven consecutive appearances in the TOUR Championship. More importantly, golfers who don’t make the playoffs this year won’t be automatically entered in the elevated events on next year’s PGA Tour schedule, which is set to be released in August.

Also in peril is Thomas’s streak of Ryder Cup appearances, which dates back to 2017.

Justin Thomas’ struggles continue as he shot an even-par 71 on Friday to miss the cut at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minneapolis.

Analysis of Thomas’ decline from No. 1 in the world, and a look at what it means for the Ryder Cup:https://t.co/uysrwFZ489

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 29, 2023

Austin Eckroat is currently in 70^th place with 594 points. Thomas has 546 points. A win at next week’s Wyndham Championship pays 500 points.

An 18^th-place finish would get Thomas 49 points and would be enough to get to 70^th  but only if the golfers ahead of him all earn zero points—meaning they would all have to finish outside the top 50.

Here’s the official points breakdown based on finishing positions.

Cover Image via Twitter