Matt Kuchar and the Future on the PGA Tour: A New Landscape
Matt Kuchar, after completing his nineteenth consecutive season on the PGA Tour, faces an unprecedented scenario. He finished in 118th place in the FedEx Cup, a position that, in previous years, would have secured his full card. However, the tour has modified the criteria, reducing the cut to the top 100 instead of the top 125. For Kuchar, 47 years old, the option of using one of his career earnings exemptions seems to be the next move. But the situation is more complex. The PGA Tour has evolved since Kuchar joined in 2002. Currently, it has eight signature events, four majors, The Players Championship, and three FedEx Cup playoff events. Kuchar is not qualified for any of them in 2026.The question is whether his conditional status, being ranked 118th in the FedEx Cup, will allow him to participate in a similar number of tournaments compared to using a career earnings exemption. PGA Tour officials estimate that players ranked between 101 and 110 in the FedEx Cup could participate in around 16 of the 19 tournaments, in addition to all FedEx Cup Fall events, except the one in Japan. Kuchar is eight positions below that group, and his participation could be affected if he doesn’t perform well from the start. He still has time to decide on his two exemptions. Despite the era of big prizes, Kuchar has shown consistent performance throughout his career, ranking 15th in historical earnings, with $61,538,738. This gives him a considerable advantage over the player in 25th place, so waiting one more year to use the exemption for the top 25 will not hurt him. Kuchar will have to resolve this situation in the next month, before the Sony Open in Hawaii. This year, Kuchar achieved a single top 10, a tie for fifth place at the John Deere Classic, although he only missed two cuts in 18 appearances. Kuchar commented: “It’s not the 2025 I was expecting. It was a frustrating year. I think I only missed two cuts, but I couldn’t string together weeks where I played well and also performed well in putting.”I don’t know how many starts I’ll have. I don’t know if using an exemption will give me different opportunities. It’s complicated. It doesn’t guarantee you entry into any elite event.
Matt Kuchar
