This week marks the final event on the PGA Tour’s 2025 schedule. With it comes the last opportunity to move up the FedEx Cup points list and earn playing privileges on next year’s tour.
There is also the chance that players will move down as the shuffle comes to an end with Sunday’s final round. It’s a complicated puzzle that affects the future for dozens of golfers who are teeing it up at the RSM Classic in St. Simons, Ga.
What about the Canadians? Where do they fit in this hierarchy? Adam Hadwin may be the highest profile of the group fighting to stay up on the big tour. Since joining the PGA Tour for the 2014-15 season, the Abbotsford, B.C., golfer has never failed to retain his status but that is now in jeopardy.
Here is a breakdown of where all the Canadians sit, what they need to do and what it will take.
Stay with us, as this can get complicated.
– Four Canadians are currently inside the top 100, meaning they get access next season to most of the tournaments. Corey Conners (T4), Nick Taylor (T19) and Taylor Pendrith (33) are fully exempt based on their FedEx Cup standing. As a result, they get to play the big-money Signature Events. None of them are playing this week.
– Mackenzie Hughes is 69th and he will play this week. In part that’s because he’s a past champion, capturing the event in 2016. But finishing inside the top 70 also comes with better access to tour events than finishing 71-100. A good week would make next season that much easier on the scheduling,
– Adam Svensson (167) is on the outside looking in. Winning this week is the only way he can retain status for next year. Capturing a tournament comes with a two-year exemption. A second-place finish wouldn’t give him enough points to move up the standings to where he could get any sort of exemption. However, getting into the top 150 might give him spots in a handful of events, most often opposite-field tournaments where he might have to sit on the alternate list awaiting waiting for a higher-ranked golfer to withdraw.
– Ben Silverman (142) is slightly better off. A tie for second or better would push him inside the top 100, allowing him to keep his status for next year.
– Hadwin may be the biggest name among the Canadians on the outside looking in. He would also need a two-way tie for second or better to keep his playing privileges for 2026. In Bermuda last week, he led the tournament for the first two rounds before finishing tied for 11th. His four-over-par 75 in the final round hurt his position but also gave him confidence that the game he has worked so hard on this season may have some signs of life.
Even if Svensson, Silverman and Hadwin don’t climb into the top 100, there is still some benefit to finishing up as high as possible on the points list. Players who end up inside the top 125 may get limited starts. Three groups of players who finish 101-110, 111-125, and 126-150 are positioned at various spots on the priority list to fill any fields that are short
There is also the possibility of playing on the PGA Tour Q-School in December. The top 40 available applicants from 101-200 on the FedEx Cup points list can enter the final stage of the qualifying school, a four-round grind that may be the toughest test in golf. Only five players from that event will earn PGA Tour status, while the next 40 finishers get a number of guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour. The following 20 golfers can play on PGA Tour Americas.
It’s a complicated and somewhat confusing situation in which all these players find themselves. For the next four rounds, the best advice is to simply play hard and see where you stand on Sunday evening.
