To borrow a phrase from the wise philosopher Yogi Berra, it gets late early on the PGA Tour.
The Wyndham Championship, which begins Thursday at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the final event of the tour’s so-called regular season, meaning the numbers on the scoreboard aren’t the only ones that matter.
The FedEx Cup standings dictate what comes next for players depending on where they find themselves on the points list as of Sunday evening.
While most of the top players are taking the week off, Cameron Young – ranked third in the world and in the FedEx Cup race – is back to defend his title as he grinds through a planned stretch of five consecutive starts that began at the Rocket Classic last week.
“I’m just excited to go play. That’s the fun part about this job is when things are going well, like the fruits of that are pretty cool. I love being in contention, love having chances to win golf tournaments and I just love competing, especially when I feel like I’m in a place that anything is possible. That’s kind of how I feel right now,” Young said.
His priorities are different than those of other players.
The top 70 players after the Wyndham Championship advance to the three-event FedEx Cup playoffs while also locking up their full playing privileges for 2027, the last year before the tour adopts a new scheduling model.
It’s possible to win the FedEx Cup from way back – Billy Horschel won the 2014 version after starting in 69th position and falling to 80th after missing the cut in the first of what was then a four-event playoff run – but history and math make it extremely unlikely.
No player moved into the top 70 last week, which means no player dropped out, but there will likely be more movement this week.
Shane Lowry, who sits 60th in points, is the only player from 60th to 80th not playing at Sedgefield this week.
Securing a tee time in the FedEx St. Jude Championship next week in Memphis is the first priority for a handful of players, including young star Jackson Koivun, who finds himself sitting 70th thanks in large part to his recent victory in the 3M Open.
Koivun is the primary face of a fast-arriving new generation that includes Blades Brown, the 19-year-old who earned special temporary membership on the PGA Tour earlier this season, and Miles Russell, a 17-year-old junior who is making noise on the amateur scene. Stretch the age limit and 24-year-old Michael Thorbjornsen, winner of last week’s Rocket Classic, fits nicely into the trend line.
For Koivun, who is in the field at Sedgefield, securing a spot in the top 70 would mean he’s done it in just four professional starts while giving himself a legitimate shot at making the top 50 at the end of the playoffs, which would make him eligible for signature events next year.
No player moved into the top 70 last week, which means no player dropped out, but there will likely be more movement this week.
Jordan Smith and Steven Fisk sit at Nos. 68 and 69, respectively, and there is some notable star power trying to play themselves into the playoffs. Behind Mac Meissner at No. 71, Keegan Bradley sits at No. 72, Jason Day is No. 75 and Brooks Koepka is at No. 86.
Both Day and Koepka have battled injury problems recently. In his last six starts, Day has missed two cuts, withdrawn from the U.S. Open and his best finish is a T55 at the Travelers Championship.
Koepka, meanwhile, has two missed cuts, a WD and a T28 in his last start at the Open Championship. According to the PGA Tour’s website, Koepka needs to finish solo fourth or better to advance to the playoffs, otherwise he will find himself in a similar situation next year to where he is this year – not eligible for the signature events.
Tony Finau, a fixture in the Tour Championship from 2017 through 2024, continues to struggle with his game. He sits 89th in points and does not rank inside the top 100 in any of the four major statistical categories, leading him to add the Wyndham Championship, an event he typically has not played.
With the number of available full tour cards dropping to 100 this year, the grind to fully guarantee a job next year won’t end with the Wyndham but it can be made significantly easier with a strong week at Sedgefield.
The race for the top 50 will have more urgency in Memphis next week but a strong week at Sedgefield could finalize travel plans for players who aren’t yet in the field at the BMW Championship at Bellerive in St. Louis.
No. 49 Harris English is in the Greensboro field as is No. 50 Maverick McNealy but No. 51 Max Homa is taking the week off. Much of the attention will focus on Jordan Spieth, who sits at 55th in points and, should he play his way into the BMW Championship, would not have to rely on sponsor exemptions to play in signature events next year.
Spieth has eight top-25 finishes this year but does not have a top-10 finish.
With the number of available full tour cards dropping to 100 this year, the grind to fully guarantee a job next year won’t end with the Wyndham but it can be made significantly easier with a strong week at Sedgefield.
After the Wyndham Championship, players outside the top 70 will have to wait until the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville begins Sept. 17 to improve their standing. It will be the first of eight fall events in which players can move in or out of the top 100.
Lucas Glover sits at No. 96, Max Greyserman is at 99th, A.J. Ewart is No. 100 and Lee Hodges is at 101. Among the players needing a big move are Horschel (107), Davis Riley (108), Joel Dahmen (119) and Mackenzie Hughes (120).