ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – It was such a beautiful and unseasonably warm day at Sea Island Resort in this picturesque southern corner of the Peanut State that Matt Kuchar cracked that more PGA Tour pros would end up moving here.
With barely a breath of wind and receptive greens, the field of 156 made birdies in bushels. Indeed 124 of them broke par and the 18-hole course record was set at the Plantation Course and tied at the Seaside Course.
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Three golfers – Doug Ghim, Rico Hoey and Davis Thompson – share the lead at 10 under after the first round of the RSM Classic. But there’s also several tournaments within the tournament. Let’s take a closer look at who’s projected to be in and out after the opening round of the FedEx Cup Fall finale.
Top 100 watch for 2026 PGA Tour cards
Doug Ghim was the big mover of the day after shooting 10-under 60. He narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt on 18 that would’ve made him the 16th player all-time to shot a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour. Ghim started the tournament at No. 124 in the season-long points race and said he has a sense of what he needs to do this week to maintain full-exempt status next season.
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“I don’t really want or need to know exactly what it is,” he said. “If someone tells me, it doesn’t really change anything either. I probably need to finish top 3. I don’t know exactly what the numbers are, but honestly, out here finishing third is almost just as hard as winning. So I’m just focused on playing solid golf and hopefully getting my chance to win.”
Doug Ghim looks on from the 17th green during the first round of the 2025 RSM Classic at Sea Island Resort Seaside Course.
Don’t tell Ghim but he needs no worse than a solo fourth to finish inside the top 100. He’s projected to jump to No. 61, just outside the Aon Next 10.
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Andrew Putnam was the only other player who projects to move inside the top 100 after 18 holes. Putnam shot a bogey-free 9-under 61. Veteran pro Will Mackenzie, who is making his debut as a PGA Tour Radio analyst this week, had a great line for Putnam’s closing par putt: “That putt hung in there like a loose tooth.”
Putnam entered the week at No. 118 and sits T-4 after the opening round on the tougher Seaside Course. He’s projected to move to No. 99 but not a lot of wiggle room.
“There’s something about coming to a course that you’re comfortable on and greens that you’ve seen before, can flip real quick and today it did,” he said.
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Two players moving in means two must be moving out.
Japan’s Takumi Kanaya shot 2-under 68 at Seaside (T-88) but is projected to fall from No. 99 to No. 101 and Karl Vilips, the Bubble Boy entering the week, shot 4-under 66 and is projected to No. 102. [Vilips is full-exempt next season thanks to his win at the Puerto Rico Open.]
Englishman Matt Wallace shot 3 under but is projected to slip from No. 102 to No. 105.
“Of course I know where I am,” Wallace said. “I wish I had played a few less tournaments in Europe which would have maybe put me in a different position right now. But I love playing in Europe as well, so that’s just something that my team and I can sit down and look at next year and maybe just plan a little bit stronger to the PGA Tour. It’s been like that for a few years now where I’ve gone back and I’ve played a few events that I really like and played well over there, but you can’t give guys over here a six or seven tournament start. That’s why I’m in the position I am. I feel like I’m a top-100 player on this PGA Tour so I’ve just got to go and show that this week and get myself back in.”
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Top 125 watch for 2026
It’s believed that conditional status – Nos. 101-125 – still should give players decent access next season. Nos. 101-110 is significantly better because it doesn’t reshuffle. Seamus Power and Chan Kim will take it as a consolation prize. Power is projected to improve from No. 128 to No. 120 and Kim from No. 130 to the Bubble Boy at No. 125. Frankie Capan III and Brandt Snedeker would get bumped out.
Top 150 watch for 2026
Quade Cummins picked a good time to shoot bogey-free 8-under 64 at Plantation Course. He sits T-6, which has him projected from No. 154 to No. 142 in the point standings. Thomas Rosenmuller started the tournament at No. 151 and is projected to be the Bubble Boy at No. 150 after a 5-under 65 at Seaside.
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Will Gordon is projected to fall to No. 152 and Will Zalatoris, who has been sidelined due to injury would drop to No. 154 but he will still have status next season.
Top 200 watch for 2026
Finishing inside the top 200 is important for Q-School status and Dylan Frittelli shot 65 at the Plantation Course and is projected to surge from No. 216 to No. 190. Adrien Dumont de Chassart posted 66 at Plantation and is projected to jump from No. 215 to 196. Kaito Onishi would drop from No. 199 to No. 201 and C.T. Pan from No. 200 to No. 202.
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Nos. 51-60 AON Next 10
A berth into the first two signature events of 2026 is on the line this week too. Davis Thompson shot 10-under 62 at Plantation and is projected to leap from No. 82 to No. 52 and Nico Echavarria is projected to vault from No. 62 to No. 59. That would be good enough to earn spots into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational. Jordan Spieth, who isn’t in the RSM field, is projected as the Bubble Boy and Jake Knapp and Kevin Yu, who both withdrew before the tournament, would be on the outside looking in.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Who’s up, who’s down in FedEx standings after 18 holes at RSM Classic
