Matt Kuchar Reflects on His Future on the PGA Tour
Golfer Matt Kuchar finished his nineteenth consecutive season on the PGA Tour, ranking 118th in the FedEx Cup. This result, although sufficient in previous years to maintain his full card, is not now due to the tour’s new policy that reduces the cut to the top 100 instead of the top 125. The current situation presents a challenge for Kuchar, 47 years old. The next logical step would be to use one of his career earnings exemptions, but the situation is more complex than it seems. The PGA Tour has changed significantly since Kuchar joined in 2002. Now, the circuit has eight signature events, four majors, The Players Championship, and three FedEx Cup playoff events, to which Kuchar is not qualified for 2026.The main uncertainty lies in whether his conditional status, being in 118th place 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 101st and 110th in the FedEx Cup, staying in that range throughout the year, will be able to participate in approximately 16 of the 19 tournaments, in addition to all FedEx Cup Fall events, except the one in Japan. Kuchar is eight places below that group and is subject to possible demotions if he does not achieve a good initial performance. Despite this, Kuchar has time to consider his two exemptions. His outstanding career has allowed him to accumulate significant earnings, ranking 15th in career earnings with $61,538,738, a considerable advantage over the player in 25th place. Kuchar will have to make a decision in the next month, before the Sony Open in Hawaii. This year, Kuchar achieved only one top 10, a tie for fifth place at the John Deere Classic, but only missed two cuts in 18 participations. “It’s not the 2025 I expected. It was a frustrating year. I think I only missed two cuts, but I couldn’t string together weeks where I played well and putted well,” Kuchar commented.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 won’t give you access to any major events.
Matt Kuchar
