PGA Tour status for 2026: Who's in, who's out after RSM Classic?

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — In the tournament within the tournament at the RSM Classic, it turned out that nobody saved their season with a clutch finish to move inside the top 100 and secure full-exempt status for next season.

Rookie Ricky Castillo did just about all he could, shooting 28 on the front nine and sinking a 34-foot birdie putt at 16 to post 8-under 62 at Sea Island Resort’s Seaside Course, the same place where his Florida Gators won the SEC title in 2023. He was solo second when he finished and projected at No. 89 but Max McGreevy drained a 30-foot birdie putt at 18 for a bogey-free 63 and bumped Castillo to solo third. He finished No. 102 in the season-long standings. Only the top 100 will be fully exempt next season.

“I hate to hear that that I was the one that did that,” McGreevey said.

Still, not all was lost for Castillo and others who fell short of the goal of top 100. He jumped from No. 134 at the start of the week and improved into the No. 101-110 category.

“I haven't really had a lot of good final rounds this year, so it was really nice to have my best round of the year be on the final round of the final tournament. Pretty crazy,” he said.

Castillo’s only hiccup on the day was a missed 3-foot par putt at No. 12. He explained that he coming down the stretch he was focused on the trophy and not his card.

“We try to win tournaments. We're not trying to finish second, we're all trying to win,” he said.

Danny Walker hung on to No. 97 and Takumi Kanaya No. 99 despite missing the cut. (No. 98 Michael Brennan and No. 100 Karl Vilips were both already fully-exempt due to wins this season.)

Lee Hodges was No. 101 but he took solace in the fact that he enjoyed what he called “easily the best week all year.” And he jumped 20 spots by finishing T-4. He noted that he has four starts as part of a minor medical exemption that he can use after breaking a rib at the Cognizant Classic that resulted in him missing six weeks.

“I don't know how many points I have to get but it won't be many,” he said. “My agents have been telling me if you finish inside the top 111, you're going to really like where you are. So 101 I guess is all right after the bad year I had this year. So yeah, it is what it is.”

Doug Ghim missed a 16-foot birdie putt at the last that could’ve lifted him inside the top 110 and avoid the re-shuffle. He settled for 66 and a T-7 finish. “I had no top 10’s all year so it’s funny to be disappointed with one,” he said. “The reality is I bettered my positions and probably earned another start or two. I feel like I turned a corner and if I win Q-School that’ll be a great way to end the year.”

There also was the case of the Aon Next 10, an eligibility pathway that awards access into signature events, recognizing the top 10 players, not otherwise exempt, from the FedEx Cup standings; Nos. 51-60 will serve as the Aon Next 10 for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational. RSM Classic winner Sami Valimaki jumped from No. 74 to No. 51; Nico Echavarria moved from No. 62 to No. 55 and RSM runner-up McGreevy, who entered last week as the Bubble Boy at No. 100 to keep his card, vaulted from No. 89 to No. 60. Three players who opted to take the week off all fell out of the top 60: Jordan Spieth, Jake Knapp and Kevin Yu. Patrick Rodgers was inside the top 50 entering the final round but shot 1-under 69 to finish in a 10-way tie for T-7 and No. 62 in the standings.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: RSM Classic 2025: A look at who's in, who's out after PGA Tour finale