The Five: See who's battling to improve TOUR status in FedExCup Fall’s final stretch
The closing stretch of the FedExCup Fall schedule is upon us. Only two events remain, with players jockeying for position into 2024. Some are still in search of keeping their card. Others are trying to earn their way into some of the game’s biggest events next season. A few are trying to capture an elusive victory that would play them into golf’s "Opening Drive" at The Sentry.
This week, The Five focuses on the players who still have work to do – whether that’s cracking the top 60 or 125 in the FedExCup Fall standings or making some valuable progress in the Official World Golf Ranking. There’s a lot on the line as the FedExCup Fall winds to a close.
Current FedExCup Fall rank: 85th
Scott is making just his second PGA TOUR start of the fall at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship this week. That extended time off has dropped him from 72nd to 85th since the beginning of the FedExCup Fall, though he could gain it all back – and then some – with his performance this week.
It’s needed. Scott is not eligible for the 2024 Signature Events, given his current FedExCup positioning. He’s not inside the top 30 of the OWGR either – another way he could qualify.
That means he would have to rely on sponsor exemptions to play, a possibility given his stature but a lifeline he would rather not rely on.
It could be a moot point if he matches expectations. Scott is the current betting favorite and is the second-highest-ranked player in the OWGR at 45th, behind only Lucas Glover (31st).
Adam Scott on the pressure of playing as a tournament favorite
Scott’s recent performances are mixed. He finished T41 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP but missed the cut the week prior in the Japan Open Golf Championship, a Japan Golf Tour event. He finished T7 at the BMW PGA Championship and missed the cut at the Horizon Irish Open in a pair of starts on the DP World Tour.
His best showing of the year came in his final start of the FedExCup Regular Season – a T7 at the Wyndham Championship that saw him narrowly miss out on qualifying for the Playoffs. It’s that form that he will need to tap into to crack the top 60.
He trails No. 60 Stephan Jaeger by 303 points, meaning a win would be the only result to vault him into The Next 10. Finishing solo second would earn Scott 300 FedExCup Fall points. The winner earns 500 points.
Current FedExCup Fall rank: 126th
Kizzire holds the unenviable “first man out” distinction ahead of this week’s penultimate event. He’s seen a marginal – but critical – decline in his ranking from 122nd to start the fall to his current position at 126th. He trails No. 125 C.T. Pan by 18 points, the equivalent of a solo-38th finish.
He has two events to earn that, though he will likely need a bit more as the rest of the top 125 bubble is fighting for the same spot he has his eyes on.
His T15 finish at last week’s World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico breathed new life into his efforts. It was the first time Kizzire cracked the top 45 since the RBC Canadian Open in June. It’s a stretch that included six missed cuts in nine events.
Patton Kizzire rolls in birdie at World Wide Technology
He must bottle up that form and take it East, first to Bermuda and then to Sea Island, Georgia, for The RSM Classic. Last week’s win by Erik van Rooyen provided the ideal blueprint. The South African was No. 125 before his win rocketed him into the top 70.
It’s a FedExCup position that Kizzire is familiar with. He finished 130th in 2022, 172nd in 2020 and 122nd in 2019. Though his finishes in 2020 and 2021 weren’t as consequential, his winner’s exemption from the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii guaranteed his status.
That’s not the case this year. Kizzire will need to finish inside the top 125 to maintain full status. The next two weeks will be a tale of opposites for the 37-year-old. He will make his tournament debut at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, and he will return for his 10th appearance at Sea Island, where he has resided since 2012.
A good finish at either should do the trick.
Current FedExCup Fall rank: N/A
Gerard is among a group of players on the cusp of earning their TOUR card through Special Temporary Membership. To do so, he must earn as many or more non-member points as No. 125 in the final 2022-23 FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List, which will run through the FedExCup Fall.
Through the World Wide Technology Championship, Gerard has accumulated 322 points. For reference, that would fall between Nos. 132 and 133.
The University of North Carolina alum has earned most of those points from two starts, a solo fourth at The Honda Classic and a solo fifth at the Barracuda Championship. But Gerard needs more. He is 72 points from passing No. 125, the equivalent of a 10th-place finish.
Ryan Gerard's near-albatross from 235 yards at Honda
His stakes are higher than most hovering around the No. 125 bubble. Standard PGA TOUR members (like Kizzire) who fall short of the top 125 but finish between Nos. 126 and 150 are guaranteed conditional PGA TOUR status for next season. However, Gerard, as a non-member, is not entitled to that status. Instead, he would have to go to the Final Stage of Q-School presented by Korn Ferry to earn any status on the PGA TOUR.
He isn’t guaranteed full status on the Korn Ferry Tour, either. Gerard is only guaranteed conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour after playing just three events before earning Special Temporary Membership and prioritizing a push for his TOUR card.
That sets up a wide dispersion of outcomes. Two solid weeks could mean full PGA TOUR status for 2024. Two underwhelming weeks, and Gerard could be battling just to get starts on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Current FedExCup Fall rank: 52nd
Kuchar’s runner-up finish at World Wide Technology in Mexico last week should lock up his spot in The Next 10, moving him from 66th to 52nd with a 146-point lead over No. 61 Luke List.
But Kuchar is incentivized to keep playing well beyond his FedExCup Fall standing. Currently 52nd in the Official World Golf Ranking, Kuchar is on the cusp of earning a Masters invite with a solid close to his season. The top 50 in the OWGR on Jan. 1, 2024, will earn a spot in next year’s Masters.
He will likely need to make the move at The RSM Classic, the FedExCup Fall finale. Kuchar is not in the field at this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, and next week’s RSM Classic will be the last OWGR-approved event on the PGA TOUR calendar that Kuchar is qualified for.
Kuchar played 10 consecutive Masters from 2010-19 but has played just one of the last four. It’s proved his best major, with five top 12s in his career, including three consecutive top-eight finishes from 2012-14. Kuchar, once as high as fourth in the world, fell outside the top 100 at the end of 2021. He’s steadily battled back, qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs in the last two seasons and carding nine top 10s after just two such finishes in the previous two years.
His performance in Mexico was his best of the season. He held a six-shot lead during Saturday’s third round before a quadruple bogey on his back nine derailed his hopes of a runaway victory. Kuchar remained in contention until the 72nd hole, tied with van Rooyen as they played the 18th. But Kuchar managed just a par, while van Rooyen made an eagle to win.
Matt Kuchar’s Round 3 highlights from World Wide Technology
It likely won’t take a runner-up finish for Kuchar to crack the top 50, though it will require more solid golf from the 45-year-old.
Current FedExCup rank: 141st
Higgs isn’t trying to keep his card. He’s trying to earn it back. The affable American broke onto the scene with back-to-back Playoffs appearances in 2020 and 2021 – finishing 55th and 66th in the FedExCup, respectively. But the fan favorite has fallen out of form since. He finished 147th in 2022, leaving him only with conditional status for this season. He will be back in the same position if he can’t rally over the final two weeks.
It will take quite a reversal in form. Higgs has made just one cut in his last eight starts, a T68 at the Sanderson Farms Championship that included a final-round 80.
Harry Higgs holes downhill putt for birdie at Sanderson Farms
He is 106 points behind No. 125, the equivalent of a solo-fifth finish. He’s in the field in Bermuda this week and is expected to play in Sea Island, a pair of tournaments that should conjure good memories. Higgs finished solo second in the 2020 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, his career-best result. He also shared the 36-hole co-lead at The RSM Classic in 2022 before back-to-back rounds of 70 led to a T21 finish.
It will take similar results over the next two weeks to lock in full status for 2024.
