The 2025 PGA Tour season comes to an end this week in Georgia. The RSM Classic, at the Seaside & Plantation Course of the Sea Island Golf Club, in St. Simons Island, will be the final stage of a double battle: the most agonising, for the cards for the next season, and the most lucrative, for the 10 spots that will grant access to the first two designated events of 2026, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am and the Genesis Invitational.
The quickest way to retain playing rights for all those players who are currently outside the top 100 positions on the FedEx Cup Fall points list is, as always, victory, which guarantees two years of exemption in addition to direct entry to several significant events. But from there, different scenarios exist for each of the participants who have not yet secured their card.
The most accessible are those of Matt Wallace (102nd), who would need at least a 43rd place finish alone this week to try to break into that top 100, Beau Hossler (103rd), who would need to be at least 42nd tied with another player, Isaiah Salinda (104th), who might be served by a 25th place finish alone, and David Lipsky (105th), who with a 22nd place finish alone would accumulate a number of points that could be enough to continue in 2026 on the PGA Tour.
From there, things get complicated for names like Patrick Fishburn (109th), who only needs a 12th place finish alone, and Jesper Svensson (111th), 11th tied with another player. Victor Perez (108th), who would have been served by being 12th tied with another player, has decided to pack his bags for LIV Golf and will not play this week. And for those following these names in the overall ranking of this autumn calendar, except those who already have the card through other means, only top 10 finishes will suffice, depending on their individual situation.
On the contrary, there are players who occupy the last positions of that top 100 that allows them to continue on the tour next season and who are in Georgia to defend their position tooth and nail: Takumi Kanaya, Danny Walker, Thorbjørn Olesen, Ryo Hisatsune, Mark Hubbard, Chandler Phillips, and Chad Ramey are, in that order, the ones most at risk.
Australian Karl Vilips, who occupies the 100th position on the FedEx Fall points list, lives comfortably with an exemption until 2027 as a tournament winner (this year’s Puerto Rico Open); just like Michael Brennan, 98th overall and winner of the Bank of Utah; or William Mouw, 93rd on the list and who triumphed this season at the ISCO Championship, securing the card for two more years.
Regarding the battle for the 51st to 60th positions that grant access to the first two elevated tournaments of 2026, the three players most at risk of losing the privileged position they currently have in their pocket are Kevin Yu (60th), Jake Knapp (59th), and Jordan Spieth (58th), although curiously all three have decided not to play this week at the RSM Classic. The first two were registered but have withdrawn. The Texan hasn’t played since the summer. Those who will be present include Nico Echavarria (62nd), Patrick Rodgers (63rd), or Joe Highsmith (65th), among others, who are looking to make the leap.
It is also worth considering a third battle that does not directly affect the PGA Tour as such, but does affect one of its main tournaments, the Masters Tournament. The top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of the year will earn a spot in the famous Green Jacket event in 2026, a list that names like Daniel Berger, J.T. Poston, Denny McCarthy, or Nico Echavarria himself aspire to join, present this week at the RSM that closes the season on the US tour.
