Francesco Molinari, Zac Blair and Wesley Bryan were among the notables who missed out on finishing in the important top 125 of the FedEx Cup Fall.
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Forty-eight tournaments across 47 weeks brought the 2024 PGA Tour calendar to its official conclusion Sunday, the RSM Classic as the last-ditch effort for pros to qualify for the top 125 in the FedEx Cup Fall and retain full playing privileges on the Tour in 2025.
The sweat was on early in the week, with all but one player in the 122 to 140 zone in the FedEx Cup standings competing at the RSM. A number of hearts were broken right around the cutline, and a number of others were kept aflutter. Take Joel Dahmen, for example, who got choked up after 36 holes knowing that he was halfway to his goal of qualifying for full status next year.
Those extra two rounds he earned himself Friday afternoon came in handy as Dahmen shot an unbelievably clutch 64 Sunday to stamp his ticket to fully exempt status next year. Other players were not as lucky.
Below are five notables — including multiple major winners — who missed out on cracking the top 125 and even though they’ll still be able to work their way into Tour events next year, it won’t be nearly as easy or straightforward, scheduling-wise. That comes at a time when scheduling is more important than ever. The 2025 PGA Tour year will offer only 100 fully exempt spots for the 2026 season, limiting the access by 20 percent.
Jimmy Walker
The 2016 PGA Champion hasn’t exactly been in hot pursuit of a PGA Tour card via the FedEx Cup Fall. He’s been spending more time playing in Europe, competing in the Irish Open and Spanish Open, where he finished in the top 15 both times. It’s possible we could see him take that form back to America next year, but he’ll have to luck his way into some tournaments first.
Zac Blair
Blair’s entered the final week ranked 123rd, knowing that a made cut and a solid showing should be enough to get him through to next year with full status. He was grouped with fellow bubble boy Dahmen for the first two rounds and finished one shot behind him. One main issue: Dahmen made the cut on the number. Blair missed the cut, one short of the number. That made him strictly a leaderboard watcher the rest of the weekend, where enough players leap-frogged him.
Wesley Bryan
Like Blair, the PGA Tour’s leading YouTuber entered the week squarely on the bubble. He was grouped with Dahmen, too, and similarly missed the cut one shot short of the number. He took to Twitter afterward thanking his fans for the support and encouragement.
Unfortunate end to a fantastic ride….
Appreciate y’alls support! 2024 was amazing to say the least. I cannot thank everyone enough for the encouragement.
Now let’s focus on getting George through Q-School!
The Brothers Coody both enjoyed their moments early in their concurrent rookie seasons, but both struggled to make enough cuts to really hold steadily in FedEx Cup position. Parker notched a top 10 at the Corales Punta Cana event and Pierceson nearly won the ISCO Championship in Kentucky in July. Pierceson will maintain conditional status for next season, and will earn his way into plenty of Tour events. Parker, on the other hand, will have to try and earn his way back through Q-School or find himself on the Korn Ferry Tour next season.
Ed. Note: A previous version of this article listed Francesco Molinari as a player who lost his card. Molinari’s 5-year exemption for winning the 2018 Open Championship was extended one year via his 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational win as well as an extra year after that when status was continued for all Tour pros during the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
Sean Zak is a writer at GOLF Magazine and just published his first book, which follows his travels in Scotland during the most pivotal summer in the game’s history.
