Math 101: Who's still in, who's out of the FedEx Cup playoffs

• By Jason Sobel
• Sep 18, 2011 6:37 PM ET

LEMONT, Ill. – When the dust settled and the projected points were finalized, three players found their FedEx Cup journeys continuing at next week’s Tour Championship, while three who were previously inside the top-30, have been knocked out of the playoffs.

Justin Rose, John Senden and Geoff Ogilvy each cashed in on strong performances at the BMW Championship to make the trip to East Lake. Rory Sabbatini, Kyle Stanley and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel each failed to advance.

“Well, what can you do?” said Schwartzel, who posted a final-round 70 and finished 32^nd in the final standings. “I gave it my best, and I suppose that's all you can do. … You know, I had a bad finish. I actually played really good today. Just the whole week has been going sort of like my finish was.”

Others suffered similar fates after poor final round performances.

Martin Laird entered the week at No. 31 on the list, jumped inside the projected standings with three solid opening rounds, but posted a 73 on Sunday to finish right where he started – one spot out of the final playoff event.

“I felt pressure, because I had no clue where the ball was going off the tee,” Laird said. “I mean, this is a tough golf course if you're driving it straight, and when you're driving it in the trees every hole like I was, it's unbelievably hard. I had some great up‑and‑downs coming in, and I definitely felt some extra pressure than if it was just a regular Tour event coming down those last three, four holes. I definitely had a little more focus going than just a normal week, because I knew what was at stake.”

Jim Furyk suffered a similar plight. At 35^th on the points list going into the week, the reigning FedEx Cup champion played his way into the projected field through 54 holes, but closed with a 76 to actually drop a spot on the final standings.

“Not my best day, and I'm disappointed I won't be at the Tour Championship. “I probably didn't need to play that well today; probably shooting 1‑ or 2‑over par would have gotten me in. So thinking about it that way, it's disappointing.”