FedEx Fall winners — and those still searching — as season hits home stretch

The FedEx Cup Fall season resumes this week at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

The fall season shines a spotlight on players grinding for different things. Some are trying to keep their PGA Tour cards, others are working to get into the first two Signature Events in 2027, and some are exempt for next season but hoping to either build on a successful year or rediscover their prior form.

With five events left on the fall slate, it’s time to take stock of where everyone stands as a critical 2027 season — one that will set up the PGA Tour’s new two-tiered system — approaches.

Here are those who have made the most of the fall season so far, and those with work to do before the year ends.

Winners who won

Austin Smotherman

The biggest winner of the fall season so far, Smotherman won the Bank of Utah Championship in his 100th career PGA Tour start. The win earned him a two-year PGA Tour exemption, a spot in the 2027 PGA Championship and Players Championship and a place in the PGA Tour’s Championship Series in 2028. He entered the fall season ranked No. 80 and needed to play well to secure full playing privileges in 2027. He did that and more.

Jacob Bridgeman

Already exempt for 2027 after winning the Genesis and finishing T4 at the Tour Championship, Bridgeman opened the fall season with a win at the Biltmore to cement himself as one of the PGA Tour’s rising stars.

Michael Brennan

Another one of the PGA Tour’s young guns, Brennan won the limited-field Baycurrent Classic in Japan. It was his third win in the last 12 months. He won last fall’s Bank of Utah Championship to vault from PGA Tour Americas to the PGA Tour. He added a win at the Wyndham Championship in August and then bested Bridgeman in Japan to put himself on the Ryder Cup radar as we head toward 2027.

Winners who didn’t win (Signature Event edition)

Doug Ghim

Ghim finished the regular season ranked 93rd in the FedEx Cup standings, missing the playoffs and putting himself on the top-100 bubble. But Ghim has posted three top-20 finishes in the fall, including a runner-up finish in Utah, to move up to 55th, all but securing his full-time status for 2027 and putting him in line for starts in the first two Signature Events of 2027.

Ben James

The Virginia product is fully exempt through 2027 after he finished No. 1 in the PGA Tour University rankings in 2026. But James opened the fall season with a runner-up finish in Asheville and then posted a T5 in Utah to move from 108 to 62, putting himself on the cusp of earning a spot at Pebble and Riviera in 2027.

Winners who didn’t win (Top 100 edition)

Billy Horschel

Horschel has had a tough 2026 season after missing five months of the 2025 campaign to recover from hip surgery. The eight-time PGA Tour winner didn’t record a top-10 finish outside of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He finished the regular season as the bubble boy at No. 100. Horschel is not exempt for the 2027 season. He finished T43 in Asheville but then went T13-T21 in Utah and Japan to move up to 90th in the rankings. He’s safer now than he was at the start of fall, but he still needs some good golf over the next month to secure his card. He is not in the field this week in Bermuda.

Ben Kohles

Kohles split his time between the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour this season. He won on the KFT and had the John Deere Classic in his grasp earlier this year until a 72nd-hole blow-up cost him the title. Kohles finished the regular season ranked 96th but has gone T15-T13-T17 across three fall starts to move up to 80. That led him to skip the KFT Championship, finishing 23rd in the final standings, believing that the FedEx Fall is his best path to a card. A nice start to the fall has him well positioned to earn full playing privileges in 2027. He’s playing in Bermuda.

Trace Crowe and David Ford

Both players are hoping to avoid using medical exemptions in 2027. Both posted high finishes in Utah to move inside the top 125, give themselves a chance to sneak inside the top 100, and avoid using their medical exemption next season.

Clock is ticking (Fighting for their card)

Neal Shipley

One of a number of young talents who are in the danger zone this fall. Shipley earned his PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour last year but struggled in his first full-time PGA Tour season, failing to post a top-25 finish from January through August. He entered the fall at 183 but posted a T3 in Asheville and a T10 in Utah to move up to 123. He’s still on the outside, but he’s moving in the right direction and playing good golf.

Luke Clanton

Another young gun, Luke Clanton struggled during the 2026 season. He made just 9 of 19 cuts and had just two top-20 finishes. He entered the fall at 147 and missed the cut in Asheville. A T7 in Utah bumped him up to 137, but he needs to put the pedal down in these final fall events.

Denny McCarthy

After a solid 2025 season that saw him finish at 40th in the FedEx Cup, McCarthy’s game dropped off a bit in 2026. He made 18 of 25 cuts but had only one top-10 finish, which came at the 3M Open. He missed the playoffs at No. 86 and then missed the cut in Asheville and Utah. A T29 in Japan has him at 91 entering the week in Bermuda. He is not exempt for 2027.

Joel Dahmen

Dahmen had conditional status in 2026 after losing his full-time card last fall. He made just 12 of 22 cuts this season. He posted two top-10s early in the season but didn’t finish better than T24 after April. He entered the fall at 121 before missing the cut in Asheville and finishing T62 in Utah to drop to 128.

Guys who are exempt for 2027 but are searching

Tony Finau

The six-time PGA Tour winner’s only top-10 this season came at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Finau finished 98th in the FedEx Cup standings and then missed the cut in Asheville and Utah to start the fall. He’s exempt for 2027, but his game hasn’t reemerged.

Nick Dunlap

Dunlap’s win at the 2024 American Express earned him PGA Tour exempt status through 2026. His 2024 Barracuda Championship win added a year to that exemption, keeping him exempt through 2027. Dunlap was lost in 2025 and continued to struggle this season, making just nine of 20 cuts in 2026 and recording zero top-10 finishes. He finished 76th in Asheville and T62 in Utah. He’s at 166 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings. After a 63 in the first round in Utah, Dunlap said he was “finally on the right track.” He’ll tee it up in Bermuda this week.