On a windswept Sunday at last week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, several PGA TOUR pros – both younger and inexperienced – were metaphorically blown out to sea.

Rookie Braden Thornberry shared the 54-hole lead, but he faded to a final-round 80 and a T22 finish. Another rookie, Matthew Riedel, surged into contention with two eagles on his back nine Saturday but slowed to a Sunday 77 and a T29 finish. They weren’t alone in their struggles on a final day at Port Royal, where wind gusts reached 50 mph, but at this time of year, the Sunday scaries sting harder than normal.

That’s because the Butterfield Bermuda Championship marked the penultimate event of the FedExCup Fall calendar, giving way to this week’s season finale at The RSM Classic on St. Simons Island, Georgia. It’s the final event for players outside the top 100 on the FedExCup Fall standings to make a final push for exempt PGA TOUR status in 2026 without taking the dice roll known as PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry (with only five cards on offer at Final Stage). After the top 100 who earn exempt status for 2026, there are different levels of conditional status at the Nos. 110, 125 and 150 cutoffs. respectively, which will certainly be top-of-mind for players further down the FedExCup Fall standings in coastal Georgia.

(One of this week’s great ironies: Sea Island Golf Club is one of the most idyllic locations on the professional golf calendar, which contrasts sharply to the high pressure that will build throughout the 72-hole event.)

Although several younger and older pros alike struggled down the stretch at Port Royal, there was one rookie who hung tough in brutal conditions to potentially change the course of the next year of his career: Frankie Capan III. The Minnesota native entered the week at No. 142 on the FedExCup Fall standings but finished T3 in Bermuda, his best individual finish on TOUR to date, and ascended 18 spots to No. 124. (He also finished third at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Jake Knapp, accruing 105 FedExCup points that could loom large in his pursuit of status; Capan currently has 411 points for the year.)

Capan had a serious chance to win on the final few holes at Port Royal but fell victim to the conditions with two bogeys in his final three holes. Nonetheless, the week loomed large for his status – players who finish between Nos. 101-125 can expect a few more starts than those who finish Nos. 126-150. Capan will still need a massive week at The RSM Classic to move inside the crucial top 100, earn exempt status and avoid Q-School’s rigors altogether – but he won’t need to do too much to stay inside the top 125.

Capan, winner of last year’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour, has said throughout his career that he enjoys unleashing his inner creativity on the course and trying different types of shots. He’s close with veteran caddie Damon Green (who didn’t caddie in Bermuda but has looped occasionally across the last few seasons), and Green has waxed poetic about Capan’s unique approach to the game:

“He hits some shots where I just shake my head,” Green said last fall. “He’s so creative that you can’t pull the reins on him. He’s like a stallion. … You can’t hold stallions back; you’ve got to let them go sometimes. The way he can curve it, I thought Bubba (Watson) was one-of-a-kind, but seeing this guy, he can curve it both ways.

“The sky’s for limit for him, in my opinion.”

There weren’t many stock shots at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, which suited Capan quite well. It’s safe to say he wouldn’t mind a windy weekend on St. Simons Island, either.

Four rookies have won on TOUR this season and are thus exempt through 2027: Aldrich Potgieter (Rocket Classic), Steven Fisk (Sanderson Farms Championship), William Mouw (ISCO Championship) and Karl Vilips (Puerto Rico Open). Two other rookies enter The RSM Classic inside the top 100: Rasmus Højgaard (No. 81) and Danny Walker (No. 97). Højgaard projects safely inside the season-ending top 100, while Walker could have some anxious moments down the stretch if he doesn’t perform up to his standard. It has been an eclectic season for Walker, who popped at THE PLAYERS Championship (T6) and Sanderson Farms Championship (T3) but has missed 14 of 25 cuts overall. He’s in prime position to finish inside the top 100, though, with a solid finale at The RSM Classic.

In addition to Capan, three other rookies reside inside the 101-125 range heading into The RSM Classic: Isaiah Salinda (No. 104), Jesper Svensson (No. 111) and Jackson Suber (No. 121). They’re all positioned to secure decent conditional status for 2026 at minimum, but they’d love to make a charge in coastal Georgia to cement that coveted exempt status – which also brings a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Click here for a full breakdown of how PGA TOUR rookies have fared thus far in 2025. Click here for a deeper look into what’s at stake at The RSM Classic.