7/29/25
The PGA Tour heads to Greensboro, North Carolina, for the Wyndham Championship this week. The Tour has changed the number of cards it’s handing out each year. Previously, players needed to finish inside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup Standings to keep their PGA Tour card. Starting this year, that number has been reduced to the top 100. Last year, the PGA Tour introduced the FedEx Fall, a series of tournaments where players outside of the top 50 can compete to lock up their card for the next season. In every PGA Tour event, there are FedEx Cup points players can accumulate through making the cut, winning tournaments, and playing in signature events. Every shot matters when it comes to accumulating points, and one bogey or one birdie could be the difference between being a PGA Tour player and losing PGA Tour status. With 25 fewer cards up for grabs, players who normally would be safe from this conversation suddenly are feeling the heat.
Tacoma’s Andrew Putnam is sitting in 90th place in the FedEx Cup Standings. This season, Putnan has played in 20 events, made the cut 12 times, has six top 25s, and a pair of top 10 finishes. Putnam finished T-6 at the RBC Canadian Open and T-8 at the Rocket Classic last month. Putnam also finished T-11 at the Cognizant Classic and two weeks ago at the Barracuda Championship. Putnam is in an interesting position where, should he win this week, not only would he lock up a card, but he would jump up into the top 70, which earns him a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Lakewood’s Joe Highsmith is in 52nd with his win at the Cognizant Classic, and Putnam will attempt to join him in the winner’s circle and the postseason.
Joel Dahmen is sitting right on the cutline for the top 100 players. The Clarkston native is 101st heading into the last week of the regular season, needing a solid week to jump into the top 100. Dahmen had a great chance to win in April at the Corales Puntacana Championship, but bogeyed the last three holes to lose the lead and fall one shot shy of a playoff, finishing T-2. Dahmen has two other top 10s this season, with a T-9 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open and a T-6 at the Mexico Open. Dahmen had a tough stretch from late April to July where he missed six cuts in a row, but has bounced back by making the cut in three of his last four starts. Dahmen also made some headlines when he and his caddie, Geno Bonnalie, parted ways. Last year, Dahmen made the cut at the Wyndham, which could be all he needs to do heading into the FedEx Fall to retain his card.
The Wyndham Championship tees off on Thursday and is scheduled to conclude on Sunday. Last year, the weather plagued the event, forcing part of the second round, all of the third round, and nearly all of the final round to be jammed in on Sunday. However, on the 18th hole, Matt Kuchar, who had no mathematical chance of winning, marked his ball on the final hole, citing darkness being an issue. Kuchar’s playing partners finished, and the veteran came back the next morning to officially wrap up the tournament in one of the more unusual circumstances the PGA Tour will see.
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