Bhatia, Rai, Theegala On Course For BMW Championship As Yellamaraju Slips Out Of Top 50

Indian-origin golfers Akshay Bhatia, Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala are almost certain to advance to the second stage of the FedEx Cup playoffs despite a difficult final round at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, while Sudarshan Yellamaraju faces the prospect of an early exit.

None of the four players finished the week under par, but three remained inside the crucial top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings, the cut-off for next week's BMW Championship.

Rai carded a 1-over 71 to finish tied 38th for the tournament and moved to 35th in the FedEx Cup standings. Bhatia shot 73 and ended 67th for the week, but his strong position from the start kept him at No. 14 in the standings.

Theegala endured the toughest round among the three, closing with a 7-over 79. He finished 68th for the tournament but remained 44th in the FedEx Cup rankings.

Yellamaraju, however, slipped outside the qualification zone. His 4-over 76 dropped him to 57th, leaving him seven places outside the top 50 with only the leading 50 players progressing to the BMW Championship.

The top-50 battle is particularly significant because those players also secure places in all of next year's $20 million signature events.

At the top of the tournament, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler moved closer to another title after recovering from a difficult start with a 2-under 68. He reached 13-under 197, opening a two-shot lead over Sam Burns and Im Sung-jae, who were tied at 11-under.

Burns surged into contention with a spectacular 62 and will play alongside Scheffler in the final group, the first time the close friends have been paired together in the final round.

Scheffler is chasing his first victory since his opening tournament of 2026 after a frustrating run featuring five runner-up finishes and five other top-four results.

Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth, sitting 54th in the FedEx Cup standings, faces a high-pressure final round as he fights to break into the top 50 and keep his playoff hopes alive.