The living and breathing organism that is PGA TOUR membership is not only different every season by nature, but also the motivations among the contingent for when to commit to playing are constantly influenced by larger forces. Not surprisingly, that impacts our options and possibilities.

Because the cutoff for fully exempt status in 2026 is retreating to the top 100 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the FedExCup Fall, there’s an outgoing cohort boxing out for less space in next season’s class. So, even though just about the same total of opportunities to play exist this season – there are 46 tournaments in all, one less than in 2024 – the same results that many of the golfers who finished 101-125 in the 2024 FedExCup standings have had won’t be good enough this year.

There are two solutions to improve one’s chances, and both are obvious: Play better and play more often. While both can benefit all gamers, the tail of that tandem is a bone for chasers in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by PGA TOUR Superstore.

With only this week’s 3M Open and next week’s Wyndham Championship remaining before the FedExCup Playoffs, front-runners typically would have an upper edge across this fortnight, but not because of their leaderboard position. Instead, because most of the guys on your short list for the postseason are resting in the interim, league leaders could stymie with chalk now that they will not miss later. It’s the smart strategy that they have earned, but their leverage has been weakened by the new construct of PGA TOUR membership in 2026.

This phenomenon first was realized when the field for the FedExcup Playoffs was reduced from 125 to 70 in 2023, but there are about a dozen more golfers above the cutoff into this week’s field than there were at last year’s 3M Open, which also was the penultimate stop of the Regular Season, so the average number of starts per fully exempt golfer likely is increasing. This means that the layer of chalk available in fantasy is deeper and broader than usual, and it can fuel the timeliest of slingshots with the finish line right around the corner.

Pacers still need to respect the last two 36-hole cuts of the season, too, so they’re not going to take risks, what with the insurance of three no-cut competitions with quadrupled FedExCup points anchoring the season. This further emboldens gamers in pursuit to play around the edges with golfers who are in form but may not have much experience at TPC Twin Cities, as well as those who have trust with form at the tournament, but have scattered leaderboard appearances this season. And with fantasy scoring promised to be elevated in this shootout, cushions are in jeopardy.

Captain

• Sam Burns … An obvious choice for yours truly because he’s atop my Power Rankings, I have two starts remaining, and my target in the fantasy game, Mike Glasscott, has only one left to burn.

Other considerations

• Wyndham Clark ... It’s crazy how deep into a groove he can get. If "Strokes Gained: Focus" could be measured, no one would touch him when he’s firing on all cylinders. While par changes and is relative, it’s still wild that he’s signed for 10 scores of 66 or lower after his last 20 rounds. There are too many swings of the pendulum in the other direction to endorse him on cachet alone, but he’s a fantastic counterpunch if you’re chasing. No. 2 in my Power Rankings.
• Maverick McNealy ... Defaults into this slot as the No. 3 in the Power Rankings. While he’s 11th in the FedExCup with four top fives on the season, his recent performances have been just OK. The upside is that he should feel fresher than others because there hasn’t been a ton of stress outside of contention. That he walked off both stops in the U.K. with 66s is evidence. His T3 at TPC Twin Cities last year was aided mightily by a third-round 63, but he didn’t squander it.

Rounding out the roster

Continue to permit weather and starts remaining for your primary opposition to influence decisions, but as noted at the top, there’s an ample sample size from which to build a worthy lineup.

My starters

• Jacob Bridgeman
• Sam Burns (C)
• Wyndham Clark
• Maverick McNealy

My bench

• Tony Finau (1)
• Jake Knapp (2)

Careful

For almost every tournament, a usually impressive subset of the field warrants avoiding, and it might be represented in my Power Rankings, which is not written in the context of any fantasy golf format. In this section, I single out who demands pause and why.

• Chris Gotterup ... He’s No. 6 in my Power Rankings, but context matters. Plain and simple, hasn’t he already given enough? The last two weeks were special, but he preceded the first-third burst in the U.K. with six top 20s in just four months. As a conservative investor, I’m giving him a moment to catch his breath after the last major of the year. Yes, I’m aware that he committed to the 3M Open only halfway into The Open Championship, but I’d prefer that he rest right now. So, who knows, perhaps that’ll creep into his psyche at 23rd in the FedExCup during this inflection point. Impressive as you know what, and currently third in ownership at approximately 59 percent, but he presents as a trap.

• Akshay Bhatia ... The lefty isn’t in a slump, but he’s also without a top-15 finish in a dozen starts since he podiumed at THE PLAYERS Championship four months ago. Tracks like TPC Twin Cities feed directly into his scorable tendencies, but so have others during his quiet stretch. Because he’s likely to cash, he presents as a contrarian, but he won’t be on sale in DFS. He’s also eighth-most owned in the fantasy game. That further positions him as a guy who is currently searching to leave for your opposition. Although he sat inside the top 25 entering the final round here last year, he faded to T64.
• Tom Hoge ... The de facto home game for the North Dakota native hasn’t been the kindest host ... inside the ropes. In the last four editions, he’s sandwiched a T4 (2022) and a T20 (2023) with missed cuts. That also essentially describes his last several weeks upon arrival, what with a T7 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday swallowed by five missed cuts in a seven-start range. Even if you’re an aggressive gamer, the bet right now is for him to miss the cut.
• Sungjae Im ... Checks in with roster ownership of over 10 percent, and it’s fair to ask why. Sure, he shared runner-up honors at TPC Twin Cities three (long) years ago, but he missed the cut in his return in 2023. More relevantly, however, he’s just 3-for-6 and without a top 50 since the RBC Canadian Open.

Returning to competition

• Garrick Higgo ... Completed only 23 holes of the Barracuda Championship and withdrew due to an injured hip. He scored minus-6 points, so he cut his losses. Since he rose to victory at the Corales Puntacana Championship three months ago, he’s just 3-for-6 with one top-50 finish, but he’s opened all nine of his starts this season with a red number, so the juice is in there to make more noise sooner than later. If not for the concern over last week’s experience, he’d be a medium-risk/medium-reward piece in DFS, if not as a reach in betting markets for first-round leaders. Cashed only once in three trips to TPC Twin Cities, but that yielded a T13 in 2023.
• Ben Kohles ... Scored minus-4 points in the opening round of the Barracuda and then withdrew. An explanation was not released. It was disappointing in that it put to the momentum he generated with a season-best T8 at the ISCO Championship. That was his first top-35 finish since February. His knack to find more fairways and greens in regulation than most others in the field bodes well for a rebound at TPC Twin Cities, however. Also placed T24 here last year, so consider deeper markets for a Top 30 or Top 40 finish.
• Kevin Streelman ... Committed to the Korn Ferry Tour’s NV5 Invitational not far from his native area in Chicagoland. The 46-year-old revealed in March that he was going to have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in a knee, so this week will constitute a rehab start on the path to a Major Medical Extension in 2026, if he’ll need one.

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