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Former world No.1s Jason Day and Adam Scott enter the US PGA Tour's lucrative FedExCup playoffs under pressure to survive past this week's Northern Trust Open.
Fallen former world No.1s Jason Day and Adam Scott are the Australians feeling the heat entering the first week of the US PGA Tour's $US60 million ($A82 million) FedExCup playoffs, starting on Thursday.
Both one-time winners of the opening playoff event in New Jersey, Day and Scott are among six Australians teeing it up at the Northern Trust Open at Liberty National Golf Club.
And they will need big showings once again to advance to week two.
Day is under extreme pressure to continue his proud record in the playoffs after enduring his worst season since his rookie campaign in 2008.
The 33-year-old now father of four following the birth of Oz in June, Day limped into the playoffs in 110th place with only the top 70 to progress to next week's BMW Championship in Maryland.
Officials say Day would need to make a bigger leap into the top 70 than any player in either 2019 or 2020, the two years since the playoffs shifted from four events to three.
The lowest position of any player to make it from week one to two was Harold Varner III, who was 102nd entering the playoffs in 2019.
Scott is more handily positioned following his tie for second at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday but, sitting 82nd, he still has ground to make up.
Contesting the playoffs for the 15th consecutive year, Scott still has designs on qualifying for the elite 30-man Tour Championship, which he won in 2006, the year before the FedExCup series' inception.
The 41-year-old would almost certainly have already secured a spot at the BMW Championship had he holed a 1.5-metre putt for victory on the first playoff hole at Wyndham.
Countrymen Cameron Smith, in 16th spot, Marc Leishman (33rd), Cam Davis (36th) and Matt Jones (39th) are all well inside the top 70 after entering the playoffs on the back of PGA Tour wins in 2021.
American Collin Morikawa leads the FexExCup standings and the race to the $US15 million ($A20.5 million) bonus bounty ahead of fellow Americans Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and Harris English.
