NAPA, Calif — With a scintillating FedExCup season in the books, which culminated in the crowning of Tommy Fleetwood at the TOUR Championship, it's tempting to turn focus toward the 2026 season.

But for many, the Procore Championship represents the start of something completely new: It's the first opportunity for players to set the tone for the FedExCup Fall.

"For most of us it's really important," said Patton Kizzire, who captured the 2024 Procore title by a whopping five strokes, on Tuesday while reflecting on the FedExCup Fall's significance. "We are jockeying for position and trying to move up the board and gain more opportunities for the next season."

Fall momentum can shape an entire season. Just ask J.J. Spaun, who jumped from No. 98 at the end of the 2024 FedExCup season into the Aon Next 10 after the fall, sparking his run of success in Signature Events and the majors and solidifying his spot on the Ryder Cup team.

Or ask Maverick McNealy. After a 2024 FedExCup season that ended at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, McNealy secured his spot in the Aon Next 10 via a 53rd-place finish in the FedExCup Fall, highlighted by his maiden TOUR win at The RSM Classic. This earned the Stanford alum spots in the first two Signature Events of the year and launched his success at The Genesis Invitational, where he finished in solo second.

"That round kick-started my season and got me into the Signature Events and all four majors, where I regularly competed against the best players in the world," McNealy wrote on Instagram.

"The fall is huge," McNealy told PGATOUR.com on Wednesday. "Even for the guys who just missed being in that top 50, getting that first two Signature Events sets you up for success for the rest of the year. It definitely did for me and a couple other guys."

Thanks to his T23 finish in the FedExCup this year, McNealy can afford to play a sparser fall schedule and focus on a different aspect of his life: welcoming his first child later this fall.

It's a different player with California roots who is chasing a similar domino effect as the 2025 fall season commences: Burbank native Max Homa. Homa never quite got off the bus during the 2025 season and has detailed his year-long struggles with equipment and swing changes.

His streak of six straight FedExCup Playoffs appearances ended after he missed the cut at the Regular Season-ending Wyndham Championship and finished 111th in the FedExCup standings. He welcomed his second child with his wife Lacey at the beginning of August and took a two-and-a-half week break before getting back into a practice routine.

But Silverado Resort is a special place for Homa: It's the site of the UC Berkeley alum's first PGA TOUR start as a 23-year-old in 2013, and also a place where Homa has found magic, winning the tournament in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022.

Even though Homa has status for the upcoming year, he articulated his goal this fall is getting into the FedExCup top 100, but he's "trying to take it just one day at a time."

"I won (the Procore) when it was the wraparound season, so it was just an immediate jump-off point," Homa said regarding the importance of the RedExCup Fall. "I think it was kind of pre-realizing how important at that time the fall was. It was just a bigger chunk of the season than I think a lot of people understood, I didn't either. ... It just got you ahead early."

Over a decade after his first start at Silverado, Homa returns with an opportunity to lay a foundation for the season ahead.