It took five days and a 73rd hole, but the first leg of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs is finally in the books. On a wild Monday at the Northern Trust at Liberty National, Tony Finau picked up the biggest win of his career by running down world No. 1 Jon Rahm before besting 54-hole co-leader Cameron Smith in a sudden-death playoff. With the victory, Finau now leads the FedEx Cup points standings as he and 69 others now look ahead to the BMW Championship.

Tony Finau won the first leg of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs in dramatic fashion

For the first time in 1,975 days, Tony Finau is a winner on the @PGATOUR.

His long wait is over – he is The Northern Trust Champion.

?: CBS pic.twitter.com/Gsejo7xO3O

— GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) August 23, 2021

It’s been more than five years since Finau earned his first PGA Tour victory in Puerto Rico and the golf world has been waiting ever since for him to break through with a second. He’s come close so many times only to fall short. But that was not the case on Monday at Liberty National.

Entering the final round of the Northern Trust, the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs, Finau trailed Rahm and Smith by two strokes. But he quickly found himself tied at the top after making birdie on two of his first four holes. However, after failing to escape a bunker on the par-5 eighth from a plugged lie, he again was down two after making bogey. But he stayed within himself and went on a phenomenal run on the back nine.

Beginning on No. 12, Finau played three holes in 5-under, highlighted by an eagle at the 13th, and finished with a 6-under round of 65. Meanwhile, Rahm, who was cruising for most of the day, fell apart on the back and finished two shots back at 18-under. Smith shot a solid 67 and also finished at 20-under for the week, setting up a sudden-death playoff with Finau.

That playoff, which began on the 18th, didn’t last long as Smith hit his tee shot into the penalty area, effectively ending the tournament right there. Finau made an easy par and that was that. After 1,975 days and 39 top-10 finishes, the 31-year-old claimed his second PGA Tour title and vaulted into the top spot of the FedEx Cup standings.

What the FedEx Cup standings look like heading into the BMW Championship

With his victory at the Northern Trust, Finau, who entered the first leg of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs in 23rd place with 1,348 points, earned 2,000 points and now sits atop the points standings. Here’s how the FedEx Cup standings look heading into the BMW Championship, which begins Thursday at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland.

1. Tony Finau: 3,348
2. Jon Rahm: 2,763
3. Cameron Smith: 2,739
4. Patrick Cantlay: 2,302
5. Justin Thomas: 2,218
6. Collin Morikawa: 2,171
7. Jordan Spieth: 2,151
8. Harris English: 2,118
9. Bryson DeChambeau: 1,989
10. Abraham Ancer: 1,941
11. Louis Oosthuizen: 1,877
12. Sam Burns: 1,874
13. Xander Schauffele: 1,819
14. Viktor Hovland: 1,763
15. Brooks Koepka: 1,641
16. Hideki Matsuyama: 1,641
17. Jason Kokrak: 1,631
18. Kevin Na: 1,628
19. Stewart Cink: 1,598
20. Corey Conners: 1,532
21. Joaquin Niemann: 1,523
22. Dustin Johnson: 1,510
23. Daniel Berger: 1,464
24. Scottie Scheffler: 1,456
25. Sungjae Im: 1,381
26. Patrick Reed: 1,381
27. Billy Horschel: 1,371
28. Rory McIlroy: 1,338
29. Charley Hoffman: 1,280
30. Max Homa: 1,252
31. Kevin Kisner: 1,200
32. Keegan Bradley: 1,187
33. Si Woo Kim: 1,187
34. Cameron Tringale: 1,139
35. Marc Leishman: 1,135
36. Cam Davis: 1,131
37. K.H. Lee: 1,096
38. Carlos Ortiz: 1,076
39. Brian Harman: 1,062
40. Hudson Swafford: 1,049
41. Lucas Glover: 1,044
42. Matt Jones: 1,033
43. Alex Noren: 1,027
44. Sergio Garcia: 1,020
45. Erik van Rooyen: 1,008
46. Lee Westwood: 988
47. Shane Lowry: 973
48. Tom Hoge: 962
49. Cameron Champ: 960
50. Russell Henley: 959
51. Branden Grace: 955
52. Webb Simpson: 952
53. Maverick McNealy: 951
54. Paul Casey: 947
55. Emiliano Grillo: 920
56. Harold Varner III: 919
57. Robert Streb: 906
58. Aaron Wise: 894
59. Sebastian Munoz: 893
60. Chris Kirk: 874
61. Jhonattan Vegas: 866
62. Charl Schwartzel: 857
63. Keith Mitchell: 852
64. Kevin Streelman: 852
65. Mackenzie Hughes: 840
66. Patton Kizzire: 822
67. Talor Gooch: 818
68. Ryan Palmer: 812
69. Harry Higgs: 810
70. Phil Mickelson: 791

The top 30 advance to the Tour Championship

As a reminder, the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings following the BMW Championship will advance to the Tour Championship, which will once again be held at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

As it’s been the last two years, the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs will be contested using a staggered-stroke format. The No. 1 player in the standings at the conclusion of the BMW Championship will start the tournament at 10-under and each of the other 29 players will start a predetermined amount of strokes behind. Here’s how that breaks down.

• No. 1: 10-under
• No. 2: 8-under
• No. 3: 7-under
• No. 4: 6-under
• No. 5: 5-under
• Nos. 6-10: 4-under
• Nos. 11-15: 3-under
• Nos. 16-20: 2-under
• Nos. 21-25: 1-under
• Nos. 25-30: Even par

Stats courtesy of PGATour.com