Bryson DeChambeau. Melissa Tamez-Imagn Images

Storylines for the BMW Championship: Ryder Cup rosters shaping up

By Jack Dougherty | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 5:35 PM ET

The top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings head to Baltimore this week for the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club. As tight as the race to the Tour Championship is, it's not the most intriguing storyline to follow at the penultimate playoff event.

A massive week for the Ryder Cup

The battle for the 24 Ryder Cup spots might be more important than the battle for the BMW Championship trophy. The top six players in the U.S. and Europe Ryder Cup standings after this week will automatically qualify for the event. As it stands right now, Russell Henley, Bryson DeChambeau and Harris English are holding onto the final three qualifying spots. Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa are just outside the top six. On the European side, Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton and Sepp Straka are safe with Shane Lowry right on their tails.

There are also only two weeks left for players to prove they deserve a captain's pick. Patrick Cantlay, Chris Gotterup, Cameron Young, Ben Griffin, Maverick McNealy and Andrew Novak are all looking to play well and send captain Keegan Bradley a last-minute message.

The race to East Lake is on

Pairings and starting times for the first two rounds of the BMW Championship pic.twitter.com/1MIuWEu1Hv
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 12, 2025

After the BMW Championship, the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings will punch their ticket to East Lake Golf Club for the Tour Championship. Considering there's $100 million in prize money waiting at the season finale, everyone in the field this week will be focused on making the cut. Here's how the bubble looks:

25. Sungjae Im
26. Chris Gotterup
27. Jacob Bridgeman
28. Viktor Hovland
29. Akshay Bhatia
30. Lucas Glover
31. Sam Stevens
32. Ryan Gerard
33. Daniel Berger
34. Ryan Fox
35. Taylor Pendrith

Here are some notable names who need a strong week to make it to East Lake:

37. Kurt Kitayama
40. Matt Fitzpatrick
43. Xander Schauffele
44. Jason Day
48. Rickie Fowler

A Caves Valley makeover

The last time Caves Valley hosted the BMW Championship, Cantlay won a birdie fest at 27 under par. That probably won't be the case this year, as the course underwent an extensive renovation in 2023 that lengthened the course, made the greens more challenging and improved the firm and fast conditions.

This year's BMW Championship will challenge the best players in the world much better than it did in 2021.

Jack Dougherty

Jack Dougherty has been writing professionally since 2015, contributing to publications such as GoPSUSports. com, Centre Daily Times, Associated Press, and Sportscasting. com

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