After 45 events in 46 weeks, the PGA TOUR has reached its final salvo. The 2025 season officially concludes this week at The RSM Classic – one final sprint in a marathon of a year.

Much is still to be determined over the next 72 holes in Sea Island. Full status for 2026 is available for those who can crack the top 100 in the FedExCup or win this week at The RSM Classic. There are still a limited number of spots up for grabs for the first two Signature Events of next year. And there are all-important Official World Golf Ranking points available for a select few players that are currently straddling the top-50 line, which at year’s end delineates who will earn a spot in next year’s Masters.

So, ahead of the season finale, let’s set the stage. Who has the most at stake this week at the RSM Classic? Most everyone in the field could have an argument to be included, but we’ve distilled it down to five players.

Danny Walker

Sitting at 97th in the FedExCup Fall entering the week, Danny Walker is a reminder of what’s to play for and what stares him down if he fails to stay in the top 100.

The 30-year-old spent years grinding to get to the PGA TOUR, making stops at every TOUR level – PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and Canada before it became PGA TOUR Americas and Korn Ferry Tour. He briefly lost status altogether in 2021 and spent a brief stint as a Bahama Breeze waiter, unsure whether he still wanted to trek down the path of pro golf. He eventually got back on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he earned his TOUR card for 2025. And after one year, the dream could be over, with no guarantee he will get another chance.

Walker begins The RSM Classic with a 35-point advantage over No. 102 Matt Wallace (No. 101 Max Homa isn’t in the field), a small but significant edge. There’s no set requirement of what Walker needs to maintain status, just the nebulous goal of playing well and hoping the chips fall favorably. He’s made two of four cuts this fall, with a massive T3 finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship. As of the Bank of Utah Championship, Walker was 91st in the FedExCup, but he didn’t play in at the World Wide Technology Championship and missed the cut at the Butterfield Bermuda. He now finds himself back on the edge.

Michael Thorbjornsen

The FedExCup Fall has proven fertile grounds for jumpstarting breakthrough seasons in the new year. Ludvig Åberg won The RSM Classic in 2023, playing his way into early Signature Events that set him up for his ascent in 2024. A year ago, Maverick McNealy and Ben Griffin did similar. McNealy won in Sea Island and then had the most consistent season of his career. Griffin played his way into Signature Events, then won three times and made the Ryder Cup in 2025.

Michael Thorbjornsen is every bit the talent as the players who have preceded him. He’s the former top amateur in the world and finished No. 1 in PGA TOUR University in 2024. He’s also shown flashes over the last few months to indicate a larger jump could be coming. There’s just one issue: he’s not currently in any Signature Events next year.

Thorbjornsen is 72nd in the FedExCup Fall, comfortably inside the top 100 but outside the top 60 needed to earn exemptions for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational. It’s still possible to break out without Signature Events spots. Thorbjornsen could win early in the season and secure his spot in the biggest events, but it becomes much easier with better access.

Johnny Keefer

Keefer’s time as a PGA TOUR member has yet to begin officially – that will come at the start of the 2026 season – but the Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year has real stakes as he competes at The RSM Classic as a sponsor exemption.

In a sign of Keefer’s extraordinary achievement on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, the Baylor grad has risen all the way to 50th in the Official World Golf Ranking despite playing only four TOUR events and making just one cut. Nonetheless, Keefer is 50th, and that’s a precarious position to be in with six weeks left in the year. At year’s end, the top 50 in OWGR will earn exemptions into the Masters, and this week represents Keefer’s last best chance at accruing points – unless he plans to play any DP World Tour events in December. Keefer played the World Wide Technology Championship with the hope of improving his position, but missed the cut after a second-round 74.

Keefer will have more opportunities to qualify for the Masters early in 2026, but he can lock it up with a solid week at Sea Island. It can also give him a proof of concept for the new year as he begins his rookie campaign.

Beau Hossler

Back on the top-100 bubble, Beau Hossler sits on the wrong side of the threshold.

The former Texas standout hasn’t lived up to the immense potential he touted as a junior, but the 30-year-old has been a staple on the PGA TOUR since 2017. In each of the last three years, he finished inside the top 85 of the FedExCup. Hossler’s 2025 doesn’t look too different from those other years, except for one glaring omission: He doesn’t have the one great week to buoy his other consistent finishes. In each of the last three years, Hossler has recorded at least one top-three finish that provided the lion's share of his FedExCup points. This year, he’s made 20 cuts and amassed eight top 25s but just one top 10.

At 103rd in the FedExCup, Hossler will need a notable finish – likely his second top 10 of the season – to keep his card. If he doesn’t, he has no past winner’s status to fall back on, and he will live in the uncomfortable region of conditional PGA TOUR status, bound for a year of mixing and matching TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour events, hoping one avenue leads him back to a full schedule on the big stage.

Joel Dahmen

Joel Dahmen is back on the bubble again and in need of more heroics. The popular PGA TOUR journeyman pulled off some of the best moments last year at The RSM Classic, first making a putt on his 36th hole to make the cut, then later holing out for eagle in the final round that led a spirited charge up the leaderboard to keep his card.

He will need to do that again this week, and then some, to keep status for another year. While Dahmen was narrowly inside the bubble (then the top 125) a year ago, he finds himself well outside the top 100 this time around. Dahmen is 117th in the standings and will need, at minimum, a two-way tie for sixth to jump into the top 100. In all likelihood, he will need to do even better.

For Dahmen, already 38 years old, it’s a critical week. If he misses out, he’s likely Korn Ferry Tour-bound. With a proven track record of success, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Dahmen quickly back on TOUR. But Dahmen isn’t getting any younger and would be fighting among the most competitive Korn Ferry Tour class in history in 2026, trying to nab one of 20 cards. That’s a much dicier proposition than trying to replicate his success for one week at Sea Island. The pressure is on.