Kuchar Faces Tough Decision After Falling Outside Tour’s New Top 100 Cutoff
Matt Kuchar finds himself in an unusual position after finishing No. 118 in the FedExCup standings. The 47-year-old just completed his 19th consecutive season on the PGA Tour, but for the first time, that position isn’t enough to maintain full playing privileges as the Tour dropped its cutoff from the traditional top 125 to the top 100.
The veteran now faces a complicated decision about his next move.
“I don’t know how many starts I’ll get,” Kuchar said after wrapping up play at the RSM Classic. “I don’t know if using an exemption will get me any different starts. It’s a tricky one. It’s not going to get you into any elevated events.”
This isn’t as simple as taking one of his available career money exemptions. Today’s PGA Tour looks dramatically different from when Kuchar joined in 2002. The schedule now features eight signature events, four majors, The Players Championship and three FedExCup playoff events – none of which Kuchar currently qualifies for heading into 2026.
The real question is whether his conditional status at No. 118 might actually provide similar playing opportunities compared to using a valuable career money exemption.
“We’re in somewhat unchartered territory,” Kuchar admitted. “I’m guessing they’ve run the numbers, but I don’t know how well their scenarios work out.”
Tour officials estimate players finishing between 101-110 in the FedExCup will get into approximately 16 of the 19 regular tournaments, plus access to the FedEx Cup Fall events (except for Japan). Kuchar sits eight spots below that group and could drop further without strong early-season results.
The good news? Kuchar has time to decide. He currently ranks 15th in career earnings with $61,538,738 – more than $15.4 million ahead of the 25th position. This cushion means waiting another year to use his top-25 career money exemption won’t hurt his eligibility when he eventually needs it.
Kuchar will need to sort through his options before the Sony Open in Hawaii kicks off the 2026 calendar-year schedule.
Despite his FedExCup standing, Kuchar’s game hasn’t completely abandoned him. He missed only two cuts in 18 starts this year, though he managed just one top-10 finish – a tie for fifth at the John Deere Classic.
“It’s not the 2025 that I hoped for. It was a frustrating year,” Kuchar reflected. “I think I missed only two cuts, but I didn’t seem to put together the weeks where you hit it well and putt it well.”
