Verplank, Chappell surged in April

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Five TOUR events concluded between April 1 and May 1, allowing for a wealth of movement throughout the FedExCup standings. Here's a brief review of the changes in the race for the FedExCup in the last month:

ON THE UP AND UP: Eight players made 70-plus spot jumps in the FedExCup standings during the month of April. The biggest mover was Scott Verplank, who opened the month at No. 174 in the standings. Verplank played three events and had two top-10 finishes. His T2 at the Shell Houston Open and T9 at The Heritage allowed him to move up 119 spots to 55th in the standings.

Brendan Steele, who won the Valero Texas Open, and his fellow 2010 Nationwide Tour graduate Kevin Chappell (T2 in Texas) moved up 102 and 100 spots respectively. Masters champion Charl Schwartzel also made a major move in April, moving inside the top 15 in the standings.

Of the players who entered the month inside the top 10, only three were bumped from the group. Phil Mickelson, who won the Shell Houston Open, Heritage champion Brandt Snedeker and Webb Simpson each moved into the top 10 in April.

If the season were to end to day, 95 of the 125 players who qualified for last season's PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup would again qualify. Among the 30 new faces are seven of the TOUR's 2011 winners: Mark Wilson, Jhonattan Vegas, Johnson Wagner, Michael Bradley, Gary Woodland, Charl Schwartzel and Brendan Steele.

FUN FACT: Of the top 125 in the FedExCup standings, only two players have the same position on May 1 that they did on April 1. Fred Couples has checked in at No. 109 on both dates. His position has fluxuated from 114th to 91st in that span. Bobby Gates has been on the cut line on each date, spending the first week of each month at No. 125 in the standings.