ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The reimagined fall portion of the PGA Tour schedule produced predictable drama on Sunday at the RSM Classic as players vied for status in 2024.
Ludvig Åberg made the biggest move with his commanding victory that shattered the event’s scoring record. The Swede’s four-stroke triumph propelled him from 96th on the fall points list to 53rd and into the Next 10 category (Nos. 51-60), which comes with exemptions into the first two signature events of 2024, following The Sentry (for which Åberg is also eligible with his win, as he is for the Masters).
Alex Smalley, who began the week 57th on the fall list, dropped to No. 61 after finishing tied for 44th at Sea Island (Ga.) Resort.
Next 10:
- 51. Mackenzie Hughes
- 52. Beau Hossler
- 53. Ludvig Åberg
- 54. Ben Griffin
- 55. Taylor Montgomery
- 56. Matt Kuchar
- 57. Nick Hardy
- 58. J.J. Spaun
- 59. Sam Ryder
- 60. Luke List
Ryan Moore – who posted his second consecutive top-10 finish – made the most of a hot fall, jumping 10 spots to finish 118th on the points list to secure full status next season (top 125). Carl Yuan dropped from No. 125 to 126th with his tie for 68th.
“I thought I needed that birdie on 17 to get it done, or at least one in those last two. I somehow just made that one go in. Fortunately that went in and I was able to sneak in a two-putt there on 18 and just secure it,” Moore said.
Top 125 cut line:
- 120. Nico Echavarria
- 121. Peter Malnati
- 122. Matti Schmid
- 123. Andrew Novak
- 124. Doug Ghim
- 125. Troy Merritt
- 126. Carl Yuan
- 127. Henrik Norlander
- 128. Maverick McNealy
- 129. Patton Kizzire
- 130. C.T. Pan
There was even more movement around the top-150 bubble, which assures conditional status next year as well as status on the DP World Tour. Kelly Kraft and Vince Whaley played their way into the top 150, with Kraft finishing tied for 19th to move to 148th and Whaley tying for 13th to move to 149th.
“You never want to be in this position, let alone I’m fighting to stay inside the top 150 because I played so terrible the first half of the year. Would have been a little more fun trying to stay inside the 125, but the way I played for most of the year until really towards the end and then now the fall, I played terrible and I kind of deserved to lose my card after playing that way,” Kraft said. “I turned it on this fall, I played great, made every cut, some top-25 finishes, so proud of the way I played this fall.”
Paul Haley II and Webb Simpson both missed the cut at the RSM Classic and dropped outside the top 150 on the final points list.
Top 150 cut line:
- 145. Harry Higgs
- 146. Matthias Schwab
- 147. Russell Knox
- 148. Kelly Kraft
- 149. Vince Whaley
- 150. Austin Cook
- 151. Paul Haley II
- 152. Webb Simpson
- 153. Satoshi Kodaira
- 154. Stewart Cink
- 155. Kevin Tway
