A rare week off for the PGA Tour will serve as the last chance for players to catch a breath ahead of the final three-tournament stretch of the FedEx Cup Fall. With playing privileges, status in signature events and jobs on the line, a wide array of players ranging from budding stars to former major champions will need to muster together their very best.
Expectations are relatively set at this stage of the season. Players such as Netflix star Joel Dahmen are hoping to keep full-time status on the PGA Tour. After enjoying a strong campaign in 2022, during which cameras were following his every move, the PGA Tour winner has since struggled with not only his newfound stardom but also his game. He finds himself firmly on the bubble heading into the last three weeks of the season at No. 124 in the FedEx Cup standings with only the top 125 maintaining a full-time PGA Tour card.
Moving up the rankings, there are plenty of PGA Tour winners from this past season such as Davis Riley, Peter Malnati, Harry Hall, Jhonattan Vegas, Patton Kizzire and Nico Echavarria who are secured for the next two seasons but not secured in the upcoming signature events. Nick Taylor also finds his name among this group of players but on the inside lane as he checks in at No. 57 in the FedEx Cup standings -- just inside the top 60 which gains entry into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational.
Despite the constant movement in the standings and the number of various cut-off points, most players are more or less set in their position. For example, Rickie Fowler at No. 92 is firmly inside the top 125, which will grant him entry into the Players Championship next March. But he's also far enough outside the top 60 where, without a win or a future sponsor's exemption, he will likely be an omission from the first two signature events.
Below we'll take a look at five players in precarious positions with three tournaments remaining in the 2024 PGA Tour season.
Five players to watch in FedEx Cup Fall
| FedEx Cup Rank (No. 57): The four-time PGA Tour winner fell off the face of the earth following his most recent triumph at the WM Phoenix Open. Taylor was left off the International Presidents Cup team, and he may be left out of the first two signature events if he isn't careful. In four starts this fall, the Canadian has collected just one top-25 finish in large part because of a faulty putter. As an added wrinkle, he finds himself outside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings with the year-end deadline for the Masters looming. | |
| FedEx Cup Rank (No. 62): Lee's remaining schedule is a bit of a mystery after he insisted he wouldn't chase the signature events on the PGA Tour and has defense duties down in his native Australia on the DP World Tour towards the end of the year. There's a decent chance he is done on the PGA Tour for 2024, but should his name linger near the top 60, I wouldn't be shocked if he makes an impromptu start somewhere like the RSM Classic. Similar to Taylor, the Australian also has OWGR implications to consider checking in at No. 44. | |
| FedEx Cup Rank (No. 124): Granted a sponsor's exemption into the Zozo Championship, Dahmen and his T41 finish was enough to climb inside the top-125 cutoff. There will be no more handouts for the rest of the year as the 36-year-old aims to fend off a ferocious chasing pack behind him. Dahmen has yet to play the Bermuda Championship or the new site of the World Wide Technology Championship is his career, but he no longer faces that luxury. The good news is the last time he played the season-ending RSM Classic, he cashed a top-five finish. | |
| FedEx Cup Rank (No. 129): A couple wins from 2020-21 were followed by a lengthy stint on the sidelines as Berger stepped away from the game due to injury. Having since returned, he's back to looking like his former self and recently finished inside the top 10 of a tournament for the first time in two years. Making a pair of cuts since, Berger finds himself on the cusp of the top 125 and qualifying for the Players Championship. | |
| FedEx Cup Rank (No. 135): Woodland's victory at the 2019 U.S. Open granted him a five-year exemption (turned six due to COVID-19) on the PGA Tour. He'll have his fair share of playing opportunities in 2025 but would love nothing more than to qualify for certain tournaments on his recent play. Undergoing brain surgery a year ago, Woodland eased his way back into action without many results to speak of. They have since come this fall the as 40-year-old has appeared to turn a corner with a T16 at the Sanderson Farms Championship and T9 at the Shriners Children's Open. | |
