William McGirt's 71st-hole eagle leaves him on the playoff bubble

With one shot, William McGirt may have extended his life in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

From 169 yards on the 17th hole at TPC Boston in Monday's final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, McGirt holed out for eagle -- an eagle that moved him from well outside the top 70 in the points standings to just inside the bubble. The top 70 in points after this week's event move onto the BMW Championship, the third of four playoff events.

Since finishing up with a par at the last for a 6-under 278 total on Labor Day, McGirt has fluctuated in the projected standings from 68th to 71st. He's at the mercy of players ahead of, tied with and behind him. Players who are ahead of him can drop down by losing shots to par, improving McGirt's position and landing him more FedEx Cup points to assure his spot in the top 70. Meanwhile, players tied with and behind him could still improve their score and further dilute the points he has earned.

If McGirt ends up in the top 70, he would make the third leg of the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons. However, he hasn't had much luck in the penultimate playoff event, finishing T-68 and T-65 in his two prior BMW Championship appearances.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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