Matt Kuchar loses his full 2026 PGA Tour card, forcing a major career decision between using a valuable exemption or competing with limited starts in a drastically reshaped Tour landscape. Producer- Priyadarshi
Matt Coocher has the title at the Berkeleys. Boy, he’s had the kind of year that really deserved a moment like this. That win really solidified it. 19 seasons of full PGA Tour status. Gone in one swing. Matt Coocher’s 118th place finish in the FedEx Cup fall standings slammed him outside the new top 100 cutoff, putting him in a career crossroads he’s never faced. Before we dive in, hit the like button, share, and follow. This turning point matters. Cooer enters 2026 with conditional status and one highstakes choice. use a career money exemption or gamble on limited starts. Even if he burns the exemption, he still won’t qualify for signature events, majors, the players, or the playoffs. A brutal reality of today’s stratified tour. As Coocher said himself, I don’t know how many starts I’ll get. It’s a tricky one. Players near the cutoff historically earn around 16 regular season starts, but at number 118, he’s on the bubble, raising doubts about whether using an exemption actually helps. His 2025 season showed flashes, just two missed cuts, a T5 at the John Deere, but lacked the spark to keep pace with today’s younger scorers. A career defined by consistency now hinges on one decision before the Sony Open. Like, share and follow for more PGA Tour insights.
