CARMEL, Ind. — Marc Leishman remembers the nervous feeling as he stood over a short putt on the final hole of the 2009 BMW Championship. It was his first time in the FedEx Cup, and the stakes were so enormous that he had a hard time blocking out everything but getting the ball in the cup.

The $10 million bonus? No, that was still a week away.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘Hole this putt and you’re in the Masters.’ I wasn’t thinking about $10 million,” Leishman said.

That’s what makes the BMW Championship, which starts today at Crooked Stick, the most important playoff event in the FedEx Cup.

Only the top 30 from the 70-man field advance to the Tour Championship, and they are exempt for the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. That might not be a big deal to Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy, but it means everything to players like Leishman, who had never played a major in his life until a tie for second at the 2009 BMW Championship got him into all four of them.

It’s also a big deal to someone like Bryce Molder (Conway), who started last week in 93rd place, but a ninthplace finished moved him 48 spots to No. 45. Molder did not qualify for the Masters, U.S. Open or British Open before missing the cut at the PGA Championship.

Jimmy Walker, one spot ahead of Molder, has never played in the Masters, the U.S. Open or the British Open. But he is four good rounds away from moving into the top 30 and getting into all three of those majors next year.

“From where I’m sitting right now, that’s the carrot,” Walker said. “Getting there means getting in all the tournaments next year. It really helps, especially for guys in my position not playing in the big events. It will change your whole year.”

Anyone who plays in the Tour Championship has a mathematical shot at $10 million because the points are reset. A year ago, Bill Haas was No. 25 when a curious chain of events — including Haas saving par with his ball half-submerged in a lake — led to him winning the Fed Ex Cup.

Sports, Pages 22 on 09/06/2012