Golf

Poulter knows what he has to make FedEx Cup play-offs cut

Ryder Cup star in 77th place and must make top 70 to advance to BMW Championship

Rory McIlroy finished eighth in the defence of his US PGA Championship title at Oak Hill and last week was 19th in The Barclay, giving him grounds for optimism as he defends his Deutsche Bank Championship title at TPC Boston this week. Photograph: Darren Carroll/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy finished eighth in the defence of his US PGA Championship title at Oak Hill and last week was 19th in The Barclay, giving him grounds for optimism as he defends his Deutsche Bank Championship title at TPC Boston this week. Photograph: Darren Carroll/Getty Images)
Fri Aug 30 2013 - 01:00

Ian Poulter knows exactly what he has to do to remain in the FedEx Cup play-offs after this week's Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston.

Poulter is 77th in the standings with only the top 70 on Monday evening advancing to the BMW Championship, which gets under way in Illinois on September 12th.

The top 30 after that event will then play for the FedEx Cup and $10million (€7.55 million) bonus in the Tour Championship in Atlanta the following week.

Just 28 players in this week’s 100-strong field have already secured a place in the BMW Championship, leaving 42 places up for grabs.

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Poulter could climb as high as third in the standings with a victory in Boston, but his first target will be a finish of 38th or better to remain in the hunt.

Safety zone
US Open champion Justin Rose is fifth in the standings and could move above Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar with a victory, while Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy are both just outside the safety zone.

Westwood is 31st and could drop to 77th by missing the cut in Boston, with defending champion McIlroy 36th and still searching for the sort of form which saw him card two closing rounds of 67 last year to beat Louis Oosthuizen by a shot and then win the BMW Championship six days later.

In his last five tournaments McIlroy is a combined 20 over par, although that does include finishing 14 over in the US Open and being 12 over when missing the cut in the Open at Muirfield.

The 24-year-old finished eighth in the defence of his title in the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill and last week was 19th in The Barclays, including a second round of 65.

World number one and FedEx Cup leader Woods is set to compete in Boston despite the back injury which literally brought him to his knees in the final round last week.