For all the criticism we might have of professional golf, the venues for the playoffs, or the pampering of the top stars, it is a nice change to see golf with consequences.

Watching Tom Kim, a 22-year-old rising star with three PGA Tour victories, struggle down the home stretch in Memphis as his game flags after a long season, desperately trying to stay afloat. Kim was at the St. Jude Invitational — the first of three FedEx Cup playoff events — and if he didn’t finish in the top 50 for the season, he wouldn’t make the second round this week in Colorado. That alone would be painful (including losing huge playoff prize money), but more importantly was what it meant for 2025: no automatic berth in the eight major events. Only the top 50 have guaranteed spots.

But Kim made bogey on 16. Then he made double bogey on 17. Even then, he seemed safe until he made double bogey on 18 and dropped from 43rd to 51st in the season standings.

“I did everything I could to get into the top 50 and hopefully give myself a shot at the Tour Championship,” Kim said. “But I didn’t make it and I’m looking forward to a really good offseason because I’m pretty tired.”

It was tough to watch, and Kim was upset and affected by it. But even if we don’t want that for the player, we definitely want stakes golf. If the event’s signature format eliminates some of those stakes with fewer cuts and more guaranteed money, the playoffs at least add some drama by putting those all-important opportunities on the line. Last year, Justin Thomas missed the playoffs entirely. Jordan Spieth, like Kim, saw his season end in Memphis and will now undergo wrist surgery.

Now the playoffs move on to the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Denver (which looks fantastic, by the way). What other names should we keep an eye on as they try to get into the top 30 and qualify for the Tour Championship in Atlanta?

Viktor Hovland (16.)

The chaos of golf: From being the game’s best player to potentially missing the Tour Championship. Hovland may be safe now, but he almost missed Denver, too!

Hovland finished last season as arguably the best golfer in the world, shooting a 61 to win the BMW in Chicago and winning the Tour Championship by five strokes before shining at the Ryder Cup. It seemed certain that the 26-year-old would make the leap and potentially win his first major title as early as 2024.

Well, he finished third at the PGA Championship but missed the cut at the other three majors. He went 10 PGA Tour events without a top 10 as he kept tinkering with his swing. He came into Memphis tied for 57th, risking missing Denver. Instead, he nearly won the St. Jude, finishing 63-66-66. With all the extra points that come with the playoff events, he jumped from 57th to 16th at the T2 in Memphis. This led to some tongue-in-cheek “Mr. August” jokes as Hovland seems to be playing his best in the high-stakes playoff events, but the questions remain.

No one doubts that Hovland’s best players can win any tournament, but we wonder this season if he will always be a slightly unpredictable tinkerer, wrestling with his best and worst traits. Because even if he tinkers with his game, he can finish third in the PGA or T2 in the playoffs. In the meantime, he could spend a month or two outside the top 20.

One can only hope that this season was just part of a process to get Hovland’s swing where he wants to go. It’s possible. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt. But when a player has the season of his life and then realizes his swing isn’t quite right, maybe that says more about him.

6 automatic qualifiers will be determined on Sunday 👀 #IntlTeam pic.twitter.com/EDqpXq8Qeh

— Presidents Cup International Team (@IntlTeam) 19 August 2024

Nick Dunlap (48.)

In some ways, this has been the year of his life, and a frustrating, humiliating year. Humiliating in the best possible way. In the last 12 months, Dunlap, 20, has won a U.S. Amateur and SEC title, become the first amateur in 23 years to win a PGA Tour event, turned pro because the win allowed him to play in all the major events, and won a second PGA Tour tournament six months later.

At the same time, the former prodigy was taught how difficult professional golf is. Dunlap was good enough to leave Alabama and turn pro early, but he also missed the cut in all three majors. In his first four months as a pro, he only finished in the top 40 once.

But amidst these (entirely expected) difficulties, there were reminders that here lies an exceptional golfer. He shot a 63 at the Houston Open and finished in the top 25 in two major events. We know he’s good. He’s just learning.

And because Dunlap, as an amateur, didn’t receive points for winning the American Express, he was only 68 before the playoffs. So to earn his spot in the BMW, Dunlap shot four rounds under 70, played his way into Sunday’s final group and finished T5, jumping to 48th place.

He’ll have a lot of work to do to continue his run to Atlanta, but it’s cool to see a 20-year-old rookie with only half a season under his belt pushing himself for the Tour Championship and even as an underdog for the Presidents Cup.

Max Homa (43.)

It’s been a disastrous year for Homa. After finally breaking through with a T3 at the Masters, his driver disappeared from the scene. Since then, he’s only had one top-10 finish, missed the cut at the US Open and only made the cut at Royal Troon with a long birdie putt on hole 18. The last blow may have been last week, when he finished last at St. Jude with a mixed-insult 78.

Now he’s out of the picture, waiting for Atlanta. If he can’t salvage anything this week, we’ll have to add Homa to the strangely long list of top golfers missing from the Tour Championship.

Tommy Fleetwood (31.)

Fleetwood has had a good year. That ranking isn’t exactly indicative of his season, but he’ll need a good week to keep it up. He won in Dubai on the DP World Tour and took silver at the Olympics – two events that don’t give him FedEx Cup points – and he has 13 weeks in the top 30 this year. But Fleetwood is known for finishing between 10th and 20th in many tournaments and not having many top-five finishes, let alone wins.

At the Olympics, he faded in the home stretch and let Scottie Scheffler take gold – a disappointing end to a great week for Fleetwood. Nevertheless, Fleetwood is undeniably one of the top 10 to 20 golfers in the world right now. It wouldn’t be right if he wasn’t in Atlanta.

Will Zalatoris (37.)

It seemed like Zalatoris’ return would go smoothly. After missing almost all of 2023 with a back injury, he got off to a great start with a T2 at the Genesis and a T4 at the Arnold Palmer. Suddenly, Zalatoris had regained the public’s trust and was able to get big betting odds on the sport’s top stars.

Unfortunately, it was a failure. Back injuries are difficult to overcome and Zalatoris switched to a broomstick putter. A T9 at the Masters was his last top-40 finish before Memphis. It was surprising that he still finished 49th in the FedEx Cup rankings.

But to his credit, Zalatoris bounced back with a great week in Memphis – the site of his only PGA Tour win – finishing T12 and moving up to No. 37. The overall picture of Zalatoris’ season is skeptical, but maybe he’s found something. One more good week and he’ll easily move into the top 30.

Hideki Matsuyama (3.)

And how about a player who is no longer fighting for the Tour Championship, but suddenly fighting to win it? After two disappointing seasons marred by injuries, Matsuyama is back as one of the best in the game. He shot an incredible 62 on Sunday to win the Genesis, but beyond that he has been as consistent as ever all year. He has seven top-10 finishes, a sixth-place finish at the US Open and a bronze medal at the Olympics.

Then, of course, he held on after a dominant first three days and won in Memphis. Looking back at the 32-year-old’s career now, you see a damn impressive list of wins: Masters, the Players Championship, Memorial, two WGCs, two Phoenix Opens, a Genesis and now a FedEx Cup event. That’s a big list of accolades.

No, Matsuyama is not having the season of Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, but he is now in third place and has a good chance of winning a Tour Championship title.

(Top photos of Viktor Hovland, left, and Nick Dunlap: Mike Mulholland, Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)