Winning in the FedExCup Fall portion of the PGA Tour used to come with a lot more than it does now — starting the season at Kapalua for The Sentry, a spot in the Masters in April and a two-year exemption on Tour.
There’s still the two-year exemption.
Augusta National changed its criteria to remove an automatic spot for fall winners, instead going with winners from six designated national opens around the world.
Kapalua is out this year because of water shortage from a drought and allegations that a century-old water delivery system has fallen into disrepair. The Plantation course closed on Sept. 2 and the PGA Tour determined it could not be ready in time for the season opener.
The Tour announced a month ago Kapalua would not be hosting The Sentry this year, and it’s looking more likely that the tournament will simply be canceled this year instead of moving to a temporary site on the West Coast or in Florida.
The next step would be what to do with the likes of Steven Fisk, who won the Sanderson Farms for his first PGA Tour victory, along with players like William Mouw and Karl Vilips, who won tournaments this year but did not make the top 50 in the FedExCup.
There are plenty of moving pieces, but the fall schedule for the 2026 Tour season is starting to take shape.
One likelihood is to find another $20 million signature event for them to play, whether that’s Pebble Beach (which already has an 80-player field to accommodate the pro-am) or offering them a choice of an event.
A cancellation would mean the Sony Open (Jan. 15-18) would be the PGA Tour calendar opener for the first time, the seventh tournament to have that distinction. It also would be the latest start to a PGA Tour year since the modern era began in 1969.
