What to watch at 2025 RSM Classic as players compete for PGA Tour cards in final FedEx Cup Fall event

At last year's RSM Classic, Joel Dahmen rolled in a 6-foot par putt on the 72nd hole to retain his full-time playing privileges on the PGA Tour. The one-time PGA Tour winner, who has become more well-known for his role in Netflix's "Full Swing" than his on-course playing, eked inside the magic number amid an emotional week on St. Simons Island.

It was a feel-good story. Dahmen is a popular figure in the game thanks to his outgoing personality, and while his golf has perhaps not yet reached a similar level, it has generally kept him on or around the bubble of being a full-time PGA Tour member.

But it almost did not happen.

Dahmen made another 6-foot par putt earlier in the week, this time on Friday, to make the cut. He started his final round on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club on the back nine and turned in 30 thanks in large part to a hole-out eagle. The only footage of the shot came from a shot link tower, and the video was grainier than some Bermuda grass runoff areas that are deadly enough to cause golfers to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

All of this pushed Dahmen into a share of 35th place in the RSM Classic, 124th in the FedEx Cup standings -- one slot inside the top 125, all of whom earn full-time PGA Tour status.

This year, Dahmen arrives at the RSM Classic in a familiar position despite being inside that key number. The 37-year-old is No. 117 in the FedEx Cup standings -- a place that would have been safe 365 days ago -- in need of a massive week to squeeze his way inside the magic number yet again. This time, however, that number has tightened and shifted to the top 100.

With the PGA Tour making a concerted effort to trim the fat via fewer full-time PGA Tour cards, fewer Korn Ferry Tour graduates receiving PGA Tour cards, smaller fields and the elimination of Monday qualifiers, this week's RSM Classic has become even more cutthroat.

Someone like Dahmen needs 100 FedEx Cup points, a shot and a prayer to climb inside the top 100. At the same time, he needs to maintain his place inside the top 125 to secure conditional status, although that is not without some caveats as well.

2026 PGA Tour Priority Ranking

How playing opportunities are divided among those who earn exempt status. Those who meet categories in bold receive PGA Tour cards in 2026, while those in italics have conditional status.

While discussions this time of year are rightfully around the top 100 and those earning full-time playing privileges, the secondary cut-off point beyond that number is just as intriguing. Those who finish Nos. 101-110 at the end of the RSM Classic will find themselves much better off than those who finish Nos. 111-125, even if both tiers are only obtaining conditional status.

So for someone like Dahmen, a move from No. 117 to, say, No. 109 holds weight. It's more attainable. Less outside help is required. Fewer starts than he made in 2025 may be the result, but an upward movement would give him more starts in 2026 compared to if he stays in the same position. 

With this in mind, let's look at some of the names at all of those cut-off points -- Nos. 100, 110 and 125 -- at the onset of the final PGA Tour event of the 2025 season.

Players on FedEx Cup bubbles

1	Takumi Kanaya
Earning his PGA Tour card via his third-place finish at Q-School, Kanaya has been boom-or-bust with his latest boom coming at last week's Bermuda Championship. Finishing T3 -- his second top-five finish of the fall -- the man from Japan jumped from No. 120 to No. 99 in the season-long race and is on the inside track to retain his full-time playing privileges. 
2	Matt Wallace
The Englishman has enjoyed a solid fall on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. A runner-up result at the European Masters at the end of August preceded a top-10 finish at the Baycurrent Classic at the beginning of October. His game looks much sharper now compared to the early spring, and it will need to show up on Sea Island where his best finish has been T37 in four appearances.
3	Beau Hossler
Wild to think this was Hossler's eighth year playing on the PGA Tour as his run at the Olympic Club, and his time as a Texas Longhorn seem like just yesterday. His missed cut at the Bermuda Championship was ill-timed as he dropped from No. 98 in the FedEx Cup standings, but the good news is the golf has been improving over the last handful of months. Hossler has six top-20 finishes in his last 15 starts dating back to the PGA Championship.
4	Joel Dahmen
Dahmen and this time of year have become synonymous at this point. He got off to such a great start in 2025 with a T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open and T6 at the Mexico Open. It was all trending in the right direction ahead of the Corales Puntacana Championship, where with only a few holes left in the tournament, Dahmen was in the driver's seat for his second PGA Tour win. Ultimately not meant to be and settling for a runner-up finish, Dahmen has been the same since. He has missed 10 of his last 16 cuts.
5	Frankie Capan
The buzz around Capan's name has not translated into rookie-year success, but there are signs of promise forming. The 26-year-old finished T6 at the Sanderson Farms Championship and was in the hunt last week at the Bermuda Championship with a real chance to win before finishing T3. The result pushed him up 18 spots in the FedEx Cup standings, and something similar could go a long way for next season.
6	Harry Higgs
Similar to Dahmen, HIggs had his chance to win on the PGA Tour this season, but it slipped through his grasp. A loser to Ryan Fox in the playoff at the Myrtle Beach Classic, the 33-year-old has notched no other top-20 finishes in 2025. This campaign comes just one year after winning twice on the Korn Ferry Tour in back-to-back weeks to reclaim his PGA Tour card.