by Joel Dahmen is up to date with the latest PGA Tour changes coming; he just thought he had more time.
“Do I get a year at 125, or do I go to 100 next year? Dahmen asked a few reporters Sunday afternoon after barely holding on to his full PGA Tour card as the 124th-ranked player in the final FedExCup standings.
Dahmen was then informed that in anticipation of significant eligibility changes in 2026, the PGA Tour would reduce the number of members who maintain fully exempt membership to the top 100 players in 2025.
“Is it going to 100 next year? Are we confirmed on this? » asked Dahmen again.
As heads nodded, Dahmen then joked, “That board thing; I thought I would have another year of freedom.
This year, notables such as #101 Rickie Fowler, #108 Nicolai Hojgaard, #109 Matt Kuchar and #125 Sam Ryder joined Dahmen in the #101-125 zone this year. Here is the full list:
101. Rickie Fowler
102. CT Pan
103. Vince Whaley
104. Michael Kim
105. KH Lee
106. Mac Meissner
107. Gryson Sigg
108. Nicolas Hojgaard
109. Matt Kuchar
110. Jean-Pierre
111. Brice Garnett
112. Chan Kim
113. Jacob Bridgeman
114. Matt McCarty
115. Ben Silverman
116. Chad Ramey
117. Nathalie Lashley
118. Ryan Fox
119. Chris Gotterup
120. Henrik Norlander
121. Alex Petitey
122. Jean-Pierre
123. Sami Valimaki
124. Joel Dahmen
125. Sam Ryder
Obviously, players such as Fowler, McCarty and Gotterup are on winner’s exemptions to play at least next season. Others, like Dahmen, would have been resigned to conditional membership if the top 100 threshold had been in effect this year.
Ten of the aforementioned players started the season out of the reorganization category as a DP World Tour or Korn Ferry Tour graduate, and only Gotterup, as the winner, would have retained his card under the new rules.
Ryder is perhaps the most interesting case, as not only was he the last player to retain his full card this year, but he has now finished at numbers 101-125 six times in his career. That’s a record in the FedExCup era, ahead of Scott Stallings and Vaughn Taylor, who each have five seasons in that range.
