Major PGA Tour Shake-Up Sees Big Names Lose Full Playing Rights
The 2025 PGA Tour season has concluded with significant consequences for several established players, including major champions and popular figures, who have lost their full tour cards after finishing outside the crucial top 100 in the FedExCup Fall standings. The final standings were determined after The RSM Classic on Sunday, creating a clear divide between those with secured privileges and those facing a more uncertain schedule.
Conditional Status Offers a Lifeline
While falling short of the top 100 mark means losing access to all Full-Field Events and The Players Championship, it does not spell the end of these players' careers on the American tour. Golfers finishing between positions 101 and 150 will retain conditional Tour status for the 2026 season, with specific category cutoffs at 110, 125, and 150. This provides a vital pathway to continue competing and attempt to reclaim a full card.
A prime example is London's Matt Wallace. The world No.74 ended his season in 103rd place after a tied 51st finish in Georgia. Despite the disappointment, he remains eligible for 19 events before August next season. While he will miss the lucrative, limited-field Signature Events, this schedule still offers him a platform to build momentum. Wallace has expressed his ambition to qualify for the 2027 Ryder Cup, a goal that becomes considerably more challenging without regular access to the tour's premier tournaments.
Reflecting on his position, Wallace stated, "I was disappointed not to quite get the job done in the Fall... but everything the PGA Tour are telling me is that it might mean I won't get one or two tournaments so it shouldn't change my schedule too much." He added that he is using the time to analyse his game and implement improvements for the coming season.
Notable Players Facing Revised Schedules
The list of players adjusting to conditional status includes several well-known names, each with their own story:
- Zach Johnson (141st): The two-time major champion and 2023 US Ryder Cup captain, with 12 PGA Tour wins, finds himself without a full card.
- Joel Dahmen (122nd): The laidback star of Netflix's 'Full Swing' series struggled this season, missing 16 cuts out of 28 starts.
- Matt Kuchar (118th): The 2012 Players Championship winner sees his 19-season streak of full PGA Tour status end, though he can utilise a career money exemption.
- Camilo Villegas (155th): The Colombian, who emotionally returned to the winner's circle in 2023 after a family tragedy, also finished outside the safe zone.
Other significant names in this group include Lee Hodges, who agonisingly missed a birdie putt on the final green of the RSM Classic to retain his card, Brandt Snedeker, and Adam Hadwin.
Pathways Back to the PGA Tour
The landscape for securing a PGA Tour card has evolved. As part of the post-LIV Golf restructuring, the number of guaranteed cards from the FedExCup Fall standings was reduced from 125 to 100. This places greater emphasis on alternative routes. Twenty cards will be awarded to top performers on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour, and a further ten will come from the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai.
For those ranked between 100 and 140, there is another opportunity: exemption into the Final Stage of Q-School, where five precious PGA Tour cards will be on offer. This creates a multi-faceted battle for playing privileges, ensuring that the drama of qualification continues well into the new season.
