Louis Oosthuizen may have fallen short in search of his first victory on US soil but did enough to move into the top 30 in the playoff standings at The Northern Trust.

SA’s No 1 started the week in 51st place in the FedExCup but will begin the BMW Championship at Medinah ranked 28th; the top 30 advance to the Tour Championship.

Oosthuizen struggled on Sunday in breezy conditions as his chance of victory was derailed by hitting just 9 of 18 greens in regulation. He hung tough and finished T6 for his fifth top 10 of the season with the major upside being his improved status in the season-long race for the $15 million.

One South African to go low in the final round was Branden Grace although it was too little, too late. With his best result this season a runner-up at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he needed a big week in New York to move to playoff event No 2.

Sunday’s 66 was one off the low round of the day and while it helped him move past Dylan Frittelli, he ended his PGA TOUR season in 77th.

He must now wait for a captain’s pick to represent the Internationals at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne in December.

Grace hit 11 of 14 fairways and missed three greens all day as he turned his best round of the event. Frittelli, though, will move to Medinah in 60th place, down seven spots from his starting point. His 69 helped undo the damage of Saturday’s 75 which wrecked any chance of him moving up alongside Oosthuizen.