St Simons Island, Georgia, United States: The 2024 PGA Tour Season comes to a conclusion at the RSM Classic this week, with former Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) participants Carl Yuan Yechun and SH Kim Seong-hyeon fighting to retain their Tour cards.
The top 125 following the conclusion of the eighth and final event of the FedEx Cup Fall Series will secure access to all full-field events and The Players Championship next season. Those placed between 126th and 150th will earn full Korn Ferry Tour status and conditional status on Tour, unless otherwise exempt.
Korean Kim, who missed the cut on his sole AAC appearance in New Zealand in 2017, enters the week ranked 130th with 379 FedEx Cup points. He trails Wesley Bryan, who sits on the bubble in 125th position (405 points), by 26 points.
Kim needs to finish at a minimum of solo 31st or better this week to have any chance of retaining his Tour card. He made his PGA Tour debut last season and enjoyed two top-10s and seven top-25s. This year, Kim has posted one top-10 and two top-25s.
Yuan, the lone mainland Chinese to hold a PGA Tour card this season, goes into the final week needing at least a two-way tie for 15th place or better to have any chance of finishing in the top 125.
Yuan, who placed top-20 in all three of his AAC appearances, has 352 FedEx Cup points from two top-10s and two top-25s and trails Bryan by 53 points. He will make his fourth appearance at the RSM Classic, with a best finish of tied 39th in 2022.
All 19 players from 122nd to 140th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings are in the field at the RSM Classic: Sam Ryder (122), Zac Blair (123), Joel Dahmen (124), Wesley Bryan (125), Henrik Norlander (126), Daniel Berger (127), Hayden Springer (128), Pierceson Coody (129), SH Kim (130), Dylan Wu (131), Kevin Tway (132), Matt Wallace (133), Carl Yuan (134), Garrick Higgo (135), Alejandro Tosti (136), Taylor Montgomery (137), Michael Thorbjornsen (138), Gary Woodland (139) and Kevin Streelman (140).
Chinese Taipei’s Kevin Yu Chun-an, who broke through for his first PGA Tour victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship last month, will be on a different kind of mission.
Yu, who took part in six editions of the AAC between 2014 and 2019, is aiming for a strong week to get back inside the 51st to 60th bracket and qualify for two Signature events – the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational early next year. He enters the week ranked 61st in the AON Next 10.
Players who finish outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings can earn or improve their status for 2025 through Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School presented by Korn Ferry next month, with the top five players (and ties) earning PGA Tour cards for 2025.
Exempt categories for Final Stage include the top 40 available players below 125th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and non-members whose FedEx Cup points are greater than or equal to number 150 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings. Players in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking published on November 18 are also exempt for Final Stage.
