Lot on the line Sunday in the FedEx Cup playoffs

• By Randall Mell
• Sep 8, 2012 9:40 PM ET

CARMEL, Ind. – Top five.

Top 30.

Those are significant targets Sunday at the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick.

The top five in FedEx Cup points at the conclusion of the final round are the only players who will go to the Tour Championship assured that winning the playoff finale will also win them the $10 million FedEx Cup playoff jackpot.

The top 30 in FedEx Cup points will advance to East Lake in Atlanta for the playoff finale.

Going into Sunday’s final round at the BMW, Rory McIlroy (1), Louis Oosthuizen (7), Lee Westwood (11), Robert Garrigus (25), Rickie Fowler (27), John Huh (29) and Kyle Stanley (30) are the only players projected among the top 30 in FedEx Cup points who have never played in the Tour Championship.

Other players knocking on the door to their first Tour Championship appearance include Graeme McDowell (33), Scott Piercy (34), Seung-Yul Noh (35), Johnson Wagner (36), Kevin Stadler (38) and Bud Cauley (39).

A top-30 FedEx Cup finish is meaningful because a berth in the Tour Championship is potentially career changing for players who aren’t already among the game’s elite ranks. Making it to the Tour Championship earns a player a spot in next year’s Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, The Players Championship, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, WGC-Cadillac Championship and the WGC-HSBC Champions.