Matt Kuchar and the Future on the PGA Tour
Matt Kuchar, after completing his nineteenth consecutive season on the PGA Tour, finds himself at a crossroads. He finished in 118th place in the FedEx Cup, a position that, in previous years, would have secured his full card. However, due to the changes implemented by the circuit, which reduced the cut to the top 100 instead of 125, the situation is different. The next option for Kuchar, 47, would be to use one of his career earnings exemptions, but the situation is not that simple. The PGA Tour has changed since Kuchar joined in 2002. Now there are eight exclusive events, four majors, The Players Championship, and three FedEx Cup playoff events. Kuchar is not qualified for any of these events in 2026.The uncertainty lies in whether his conditional status as number 118 in the FedEx Cup will allow him to participate in a similar number of tournaments compared to using a career earnings exemption.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 high-level events.
Matt Kuchar
PGA Tour officials estimate that players ranked between 101st and 110th in the FedEx Cup, maintaining that ranking 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 could drop if he doesn’t perform well at the start of the season. He still has time to decide on his two exemptions. Despite the era of big prizes, Kuchar has had an outstanding career, ranking 15th in career earnings with $61,538,738. He surpasses the player in 25th place by more than $15.4 million, so waiting one more year to use the top 25 exemption will not affect him. Kuchar will have to make a decision in the next month, before the Sony Open in Hawaii. This year, Kuchar only achieved one top 10, a tie for fifth place at the John Deere Classic, but only missed two cuts in 18 participations.We are in uncharted territory. I guess they have done the calculations, but I don’t know how well their scenarios will work.
Matt Kuchar
It’s not the 2025 I was expecting. It was a frustrating year. I think I only missed two cuts, but I didn’t manage to string together weeks where I played well and putted well.
Matt Kuchar
