East Lake or bust: emotion on both sides of the BMW bubble



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MEDINAH, Ill. – Two weeks after climbing the mountain, J. T. Poston left the 18th green of the Medinah Country Club with visible frustration that went through his otherwise placid face.

Poston had no problem with 72 holes before winning the Wyndham Championship, his first win on the PGA Tour and another that transformed his season. But Sunday at the BMW championship, it was an unwelcome bogey on the 72nd hole that ended the season exhilaratingly in East Lake.

Poston started the 36th week and suffered an unexpected march Sunday after the fire on the roof of his hotel forced an evacuation. He slipped into the bull among the top 30 in the standings with a solid final with three birdies in a row on numbers 14-16.

But after pushing his 3-wood into a bunker of the 18th start, Poston achieved an expensive bogey that dropped him from 30th to 32nd in the final standings.

This is an important limit for the 26-year-old, who is in the Masters for his win at Wyndham, but would also qualify for the US Open, Open, WGC-HSBC Champions and WGC-Mexico Championship by qualifying for the Tour Championship.

"That's why we play. A win is all right, but one of my goals at the start of the year was the Tour Championship, "said Poston. "I gave myself a chance to get in today, and really gave me a chance there with a couple to go there."


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As Poston stayed on the outside, the points splashed in favor of veteran Jason Kokrak. Kokrak's 209th career start on the PGA Tour came to an end with a finish in T-19 at Medinah. After signing his card, he was No. 31 in the standings. But Poston's later bogey put him back in the lineup, meaning the 34-year-old who never won on the track will make his maiden appearance at the Masters next spring.

"Being eight years on tour would mean the world. Not winning and being in the top 30 is a good year, "said Kokrak, who moved from 32nd to 30th this week. "It would mean that I participate in all the biggest events. I can make my schedule a little easier. Spend a year a little different from what I normally do.

Kokrak will not be the only player to make his Masters debut in 2020 after qualifying for East Lake. Abraham Ancer (10th) will make his first appearance at Augusta, largely thanks to second place finish last weekend in New Jersey, while Sungjae Im will move from 26th to 24th and will be the only rookie in the Tour Championship.

Kokrak was also not the only player to be in the top 30 this week. Hideki Matsuyama's third place took him from 33rd to 15th, while Lucas Glover moved from 41st to 29th.

The 10-year US Open exemption from Glover for the win at Bethpage has expired this year, but it will now have a place at Winged Foot next summer, despite difficulties with a boguey at 16th and a doubled in the 17th. He & # 39; He has also made his first appearance at East Lake since 2009, and next year will mark his first invitation to the Masters since 2014.

"It would not be me if I did not make it interesting," said Glover. "From what I understand, I will go to Augusta next year. Had not been there for a long time, so excited about it. And yes, I'm proud of my season. "

While Kokrak, Matsuyama and Glover all moved in, three other players saw their season end abruptly outside of Chicago. Defending champion Shane Lowry fell from 25th to 33rd after a T-48 finish in Medinah, while Andrew Putnam went from 30th to 34th and Harold Varner III went from 29th to 38th. Putnam and Varner would both qualify for their first Masters journeys with a place in the championship.

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