While the Tour Championship ended way back in August with Tommy Fleetwood taking the crown, the PGA Tour season has soldiered on with the FedEx Fall. Pros outside the top 50 in the final FedEx Cup rankings have battled for career survival across six events so far.
This week’s RSM Classic represents the final FedEx Fall event, and, therefore, the final chance for pros to secure their PGA Tour status for 2026. While the stars are staying home, the stakes couldn’t be higher for most players in the field.
Here’s exactly what the pros are playing for at this week’s RSM Classic.
Top 100: Full PGA Tour status for 2026
The priority for most players at the RSM Classic is to finish the tournament within the top 100 of the FedEx Fall rankings. By doing so, they earn full PGA Tour status for the 2026 season.
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That means they automatically gain entry to every regular PGA Tour event and the Players Championship in March. While players finishing from 61-100 do not earn spots into next year’s Signature Events, they can still play their way into those tournaments by performing well in the other events for which they are eligible.
Adam Schenk became the latest pro to make the leap inside the Top 100 with his maiden Tour victory at last week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship (while putting one-handed). The victory launched Schenk from 134th to 61st in the FedEx Fall standings.
Schenk’s Tour card is now secured for 2026, but he will be playing for something else at the RSM, which we will get into below.
Here are the top 100 bubble players heading in the field at the RSM Classic (*already exempt for 2026): Ryo Hisatsune (95), Thorbjørn Olesen (96), Danny Walker (97), Michael Brennan (98), Takumi Kanaya (99), Karl Vilips* (100), Matt Wallace (102), Beau Hossler (103), Isaiah Salinda (104), David Lipsky (105), Victor Perez (108), Patrick Fishburn (109), Pierceson Coody (110)
60-51: Signature Event invites
As previously mentioned, Schenk and the other players comfortably within the top 100 still have a lot to play for this week: access to Signature Events.
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All pros who finished the FedEx Cup Playoffs in the top 50 secured a spot in all of the 2026 Signature Events, which feature limited fields, giant purses and increased FedEx Cup points.
Players who finish the RSM Classic ranked 51-60 qualify for the Aon Next 10. That means they earn spots in the first two Signature Events of the 2026 PGA Tour season, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational in February.
Here are 60-51 bubble players in the RSM Classic field: Chris Kirk (54), Rico Hoey (57), Nico Echavarria (62), Patrick Rodgers (63), Joe Highsmith (65), Stephan Jaeger (66), Adam Schenk (67), Mackenzie Hughes (69) and Steven Fisk (70).
Outside top 100: Conditional PGA Tour status, Q-School finale
Players who finish the RSM Classic outside the top 100 in the FedEx Fall finale have a tougher road to secure their status. All players ranked 101-150 will have varying levels of conditional PGA Tour status for 2026, as well as full status on the Korn Ferry Tour.
But, additionally, many of them have one final chance to earn their full PGA Tour card for next year.
The top 40 players outside the top 100 in the FedEx Fall earn a spot in the Final Stage of Q-School from December 11-14. The top 5 finishers at the Final Stage of Q-School earn their full PGA Tour card for 2026.
