FedExCup Final 30 preview: No. 22 Ernie Els

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The top 30 players in FedExCup points have advanced to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and now have a chance to win the FedExCup. Here's a detailed look at each player and how he made it to East Lake:
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Season in review

ERNIE ELS: 22nd in FedExCup points (290 after reset) Els was 47th in FedExCup points when the PGA TOUR Playoffs began, but a tie for second at The Barclays gave him the necessary points and momentum to become one of seven players who moved from outside to inside the top 30 that qualify for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Els, a 16-time PGA TOUR winner looking for his first TOUR victory of the season, was 4-over through four holes at The Barclays before turning it around to post a tie for second for his best finish of the season and his sixth top-10 in 2009. One of his other top-10s of 2009 came the week prior, when he was tied for sixth at the PGA Championship. Els will compete in The Presidents Cup for the International Team for a sixth time later this year. Els has finished in the final FedExCup standings in the top 20 for the past two years: 19th in 2007 and 13th in 2008. He tied for sixth at THE TOUR Championship last year, his sixth top-10 finish at the event in 13 career starts. Els is one of six players (Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan) who have made it to THE TOUR Championship in all three seasons of the FedExCup.

Quick analysis

The Big Easy came into the Playoffs with enthusiasm after contending at the PGA Championship and the British Open. That tie for second at The Barclays only added fuel to the fire. Els missed the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship, though, and was hit-or-miss at Cog Hill last week. Still, he's done well at previous TOUR Championships with six top-10s, including a tie for second in 2001, so a win certainly wouldn't be out of the question. -- Helen Ross

How Els got here

Breaking down the FedExCup points won and rank after each start in 2009

Rank Change in rank Tournament Finish Points earned Points for year Points behind 22 -2 BMW Championship T38 150 1,833 5,363 20 -9 Deutsche Bank Championship CUT 0 1,683 3,922 11 34 The Barclays T2 950 1,683 2,698 45 12 PGA Championship T6 98 733 2,698 57 -6 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational T29 39 635 2,466 51 -1 British Open Championship T8 82.6 596 1,463 50 -5 U.S. Open Championship CUT 0 513 1,103 45 2 the Memorial Tournament T8 82.5 513 1,096 47 -11 THE PLAYERS Championship T45 24.5 431 1,000 36 -1 Verizon Heritage T48 19.5 406 944 35 -7 Masters Tournament CUT 0 387 963 28 -3 Shell Houston Open T14 55 387 903 25 7 World Golf Championships-CA Championship T20 48 332 872 32 0 The Honda Classic T22 47 284 892 32 22 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship T5 101 237 939 54 -42 Northern Trust Open T51 17.5 136 580 12 -6 Sony Open in Hawaii T39 29.5 118 471 6 0 Mercedes-Benz Championship T6 88.75 89 411

Previous Playoffs results

Year Barclays Deutsche Bank BMW Champ. Tour Champ. Final FEC Position 2008 CUT T3 T17 T6 13th 2007 T4 DNP T18 T26 19th

Previous results at THE TOUR Championship

Year Finish Rd. 1 Rd. 2 Rd. 3 Rd. 4 Total To par Money won 2008 T6 68 73 70 69 280 Even 238,000 2007 T26 69 69 73 69 280 Even 116,900 2006 T10 71 72 66 72 281 1 182,800 2004 T10 72 71 68 67 278 -2 158,200 2003 17 70 69 73 69 281 -3 120,000 2002 T13 73 69 70 67 279 -1 111,200 2001 T2 69 68 65 68 270 -14 385,000 2000 T3 64 72 68 69 273 -7 261,666 1999 T26 68 71 75 71 285 1 83,000 1997 T26 71 71 72 75 289 5 66,400 1996 T6 76 70 65 68 279 -1 102,000 1995 T16 71 74 75 73 293 13 60,900 1994 T17 68 67 72 76 283 -1 60,000