Top 125 finalized entering 2024 PGA TOUR Season
PGA TOUR rookie Ludvig Åberg wins The RSM Classic to earn access to first three Signature Events of 2024
SIMONS ISLAND, GEORGIA
The FedExCup Fall standings were finalized Sunday at The RSM Classic, with players finishing in the top 125 securing access to all Full-Field Events and THE PLAYERS Championship in 2024. Other competitive consequences determined as the 2022-23 PGA TOUR Season came to an end include The Next 10, a new eligibility pathway to 2024 Signature Events, and the DP World Tour Top 10, offering PGA TOUR membership to DP World Tour members.
The RSM Classic, won by Ludvig Åberg, was the final event of the 2023 FedExCup Fall, consisting of seven official PGA TOUR events. Each event offered winner’s benefits – a two-year PGA TOUR exemption, 500 FedExCup points, and invitations to The Sentry, THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters Tournament and PGA Championship in 2024 – as well as the opportunity for players to lock up or improve positions in the priority ranking for the 2024 FedExCup Season.
With the victory, Åberg, who joined the PGA TOUR in June as the No. 1 player in the PGA TOUR University Ranking, receives a two-year exemption through 2025 and a start in The Sentry, the first of eight Signature Events in 2024. The 24-year-old Swede entered The RSM Classic at No. 96 in the FedExCup Fall standings and moved to No. 53, earning a spot in The Next 10 with entry to two additional Signature Events – the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational. Since making his professional debut in June at the RBC Canadian Open, Åberg has jumped from No. 914 to No. 32 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Åberg, one of three rookies to win on the 2022-23 PGA TOUR Season, is eligible for the Arnold Palmer Award for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. Nominees for the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and PGA TOUR Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Award) will be announced in December, with the awards presented at a later date.
Top 125
The RSM Classic was the 54th and final event of the 2022-23 PGA TOUR Season and the last opportunity for players to secure top-125 status, offering access to all Full-Field Events and THE PLAYERS Championship in the 2024 season.
Ryan Moore, who entered the week No. 128 in the FedExCup Fall standings, finished T8 at The RSM Classic to move into the top 125, finishing the FedExCup Fall No. 118. Moore was the only player that moved into the top 125 during the season’s final event, replacing rookie Carl Yuan, who fell from No. 125 to No. 126.
Players who finished Nos. 126-150 earned conditional status, unless otherwise exempt, and are eligible for Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry in December. Two players entered The RSM Classic outside the top 150 and finished No. 150 or better: Kelly Kraft and Vince Whaley.
Top 125 non-member
Two players – Nicolai Højgaard and Min Woo Lee – earned PGA TOUR cards for 2024 by finishing the season with as many or more points as No. 125 in the FedExCup Fall standings, Troy Merritt (441 points). Højgaard and Lee, who have each won multiple titles on the DP World Tour, joined the PGA TOUR during the 2022-23 season as Special Temporary Members.
Four other players joined as Special Temporary Members during the 2022-23 season. Ryan Fox earned his card via the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai and Akshay Bhatia won the 2023 Barracuda Championship to earn a two-year exemption. Special Temporary Members Ryan Gerard (MC at The RSM Classic) and Peter Kuest (T13 at The RSM Classic) did not meet the points required for status next season and are exempt for Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
The Next 10
New in 2024, The Next 10 is an eligibility pathway to earn access into Signature Events (outside of The Sentry), recognizing the top 10 players, not otherwise exempt, from the FedExCup standings. Nos. 51-60 in the final FedExCup Fall standings at the conclusion of The RSM Classic will serve as The Next 10 for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational: No. 51 Mackenzie Hughes, No. 52 Beau Hossler, No. 53 Ludvig Åberg, No. 54 Ben Griffin, No. 55 Taylor Montgomery, No. 56 Matt Kuchar, No. 57 Nick Hardy, No. 58 J.J. Spaun, No. 59 Sam Ryder, No. 60 Luke List.
Signature Events are limited-field tournaments with increased prize money and FedExCup points and include players who finished in the top 50 in the 2022-23 FedExCup standings, with remaining spots determined by players who play their best in the weeks leading up to the next Signature Event (The Next 10, The Swing 5).DP World Tour
The 2023 DP World Tour Season concluded this week at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where Nicolai Højgaard earned his third DP World Tour title. For the first time, the top 10 players in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings who were not otherwise exempt earned PGA TOUR cards: Adrian Meronk, Ryan Fox, Victor Perez, Thorbjørn Olesen, Alexander Björk, Sami Valimaki, Robert MacIntyre, Matthieu Pavon, Jorge Campillo and Ryo Hisatsune. These 10 players are eligible for TOUR membership for the 2024 season and will have dual membership on the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour.
Five players among the DP World Tour Top 10 will be rookies during the 2024 season: Björk, Campillo, Hisatsune, Pavon and Valimaki. Fox, MacIntyre, Meronk and Perez will be first-year TOUR members having played in more than seven events in at least one prior TOUR season. Olesen was a TOUR member during the 2013-14 season.
Players have until December 1, 2023 to accept membership. If any of the 10 players declines or is ineligible for PGA TOUR membership, the next highest-ranked player, not otherwise exempt, would become eligible.
By finishing No. 1 in the DP World Tour Top 10, Meronk has secured spots in THE PLAYERS Championship and the Charles Schwab Challenge, and is exempt from reshuffles during the 2024 season, along with the top player on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023 (Ben Kohles). The remaining nine players will be placed at the top of the same category as Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry graduates, with the first reshuffle taking place the Monday of the Masters Tournament.
Nicolai Højgaard earned a spot in two Signature Events in 2024 – the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational – by finishing as the top player in the Race to Dubai Rankings who did not finish in the top 50 in this season’s FedExCup standings.
Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry
With the top 125 and 126-150 categories set, the final opportunity for PGA TOUR membership is Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry in December. The top five finishers (and ties) will earn TOUR cards, giving players without status an opportunity to earn or re-gain TOUR membership and players in the 126-150 category or below a chance to improve their status.
Exempt categories for Final Stage include the top 40 available players below No. 125 in the FedExCup Fall standings and non-members whose FedExCup points are greater than are equal to No. 150 in the FedExCup Fall standings. Players in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking published on Monday, November 13 are also exempt for Final Stage.
Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry will be contested Thursday, December 14 through Sunday, December 17 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, at Dye’s Valley at TPC Sawgrass and Sawgrass Country Club.
The next 40 finishers (and ties) will earn exempt status through multiple reshuffles on the Korn Ferry Tour, and all remaining competitors at Final Stage will have conditional Korn Ferry Tour status.
