After a troublesome 12 months for the grads, this is a have a look at who stored their playing cards – and who misplaced them

One of many primary drivers of the PGA Tour’s just lately introduced eligibility adjustments was the idea that when you’ve got a Tour card, it is best to be capable of, for essentially the most half, know your schedule.

This 12 months, that was not the case for most of the gamers low within the reorder class of the Tour’s precedence record, primarily the underside half of the Korn Ferry Tour graduates and all 5 Q-College qualifiers, most of whom missed out on seven of the 12 months’s first 10 tournaments.

Whereas the proportion of KFT grads who stored their card ended up above common, at 50% (15 of 30 together with Grayson Murray, who died in Might however gained the Sony Open in January), 13 of the underside 15 gamers in precedence from KFT/Q-College to begin the season misplaced their full standing by failing to complete within the prime 125 of the ultimate FedExCup standings, together with all 5 Q-College grads. And all however two of these 13 guys didn’t hold even conditional standing.

Because the Tour transitions to a leaner circuit in 2026, subsequent 12 months will probably be even harder for the incoming crop of KFT/Q-College grads, who once more will begin the season prioritized behind the ten DPWT grads. Not solely will they wrestle to get into early-season open occasions such because the Sony Open, WM Phoenix Open and Cognizant Basic, however they may discover different tournaments – perhaps American Specific and the pre-Masters run of Valspar, Houston and Valero – harder to earn spots in as everybody performs extra to make the highest 100, which would be the new cutoff to keep up totally exempt membership.

this season’s ultimate FedExCup standings, solely 10 of the 42 DPWT/KFT/Q-College grads within the reorder class completed within the prime 100, with 4 of them being winners – six of these gamers completed between Nos. 81-100. It might’ve been even fewer had Rafa Campos, No. 30 in KFT final 12 months, not gained the Bermuda Championship within the penultimate occasion of the autumn.

“It’s loopy that I really feel like I’ve performed higher than being one hundredth on the factors,” mentioned Chandler Phillips, who ended No. 94, “however hey, you understand what, no matter, you understand?”

Here’s a snapshot of how every of the DPWT/KFT/Q-College graduates carried out in 2024:

The excellent news is as soon as 2026 arrives, lack of full-field begins shouldn’t be a problem for any PGA Tour member other than doubtlessly Phoenix.

There’ll simply be fewer members, a change that has most of the Tour’s rank-and-file upset.

Maverick McNealy, who gained the RSM Basic on Sunday, mentioned a day earlier that he would’ve preferred the Tour to have elevated the dimensions of the signature-event fields.

“That is my private opinion, however I’ve a tough time defending signature-event fields of 72 gamers if we’re going to restrict the variety of gamers which have a card,” McNealy mentioned. “I believe 120 is a ravishing quantity, I believe it’s very aggressive. I believe a reduce is an integral a part of our sport and I believe it might be actually cool to play signature occasions at 120 gamers over the 72. With eight tournaments, that’s 400 extra enjoying alternatives. It simply looks as if a layup to me. There’s a bunch of arguments why 72 is the quantity. None of them have satisfied me but, however that’s my private opinion.

“Cash and factors to replicate the power of area. However I simply hope that the choice they’ve made is admittedly what’s greatest for the Tour. There’s all the time going to be winners and losers in each determination. I simply hope that the Tour as a complete wins.”