The PGA Tour’s highest-earning cut just happened. Who missed out?

The most important cuts of the 2024 PGA Tour season took place on Sunday.

Indeed.

I know you, dear reader, which means I know you don’t care too much about the FedEx Cup Playoff’s standard, downward-sloping, low-to-50 cutoff line. But you have to care about it this standard, run-of-the-mill, 70-down-to-50 cutline, because its implications are many, many millions of dollars.

Yes, this week’s lineup determined the official Top 50 standings for the 2024 FedEx Cup, which means it determined the 50 golfers who will be granted automatic entry into the PGA Tour’s eight Signature Events in 2025. Those who miss the cut will not make it. they are completely abandoned, but their work lives will change. Now their plan will depend on the release of sponsors; their placement in things like Swing Five, Next Ten and OWGR; and their number of wins for the season (winners are given exemptions from all events of the year).

So, who is on the winning side? Who is on the losing side? And what does it all mean yougolf fan sincerely hoping to see the greatest number of must-see golf tournaments in 2025? We break it all down below.

Who’s in the Middle

The complete list

The stars

Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas — these are your favorite names never I want to see Signature Events come out, because without names like these, Siggies would be…well, not very signature.

Thankfully, the program has ensured that all but a handful of stars have found their way into automatic eligibility status for 2024. If the original goal of the new program was to multiply the number of times the stars compete against each other, then, goal accomplished.

The next Gen

You couldn’t make a list of stars you’d love to watch today without names like Ludwig Aberg, Viktor Hovland and Sahith Theegala. Thankfully, every member of those Next Gen golfers made it safely into the top 50.

Special kudos to Nick Dunlap, who made it into the top 50 despite scoring points in his first American Express win not counting his FedEx Cup ranking this year. Dunlap was a rookie when he won that event, but he moved into the top 50 after late-season surgery that marked his second win at the Barracuda. Dunlap isn’t just a name to watch; the name is growing.

Captain

We can now agree that it would have been difficult if Keegan Bradley had been left out of the top 50. As the captain of the US Ryder Cup, the release of sponsors would happen in the main events of ’25, which starts the game. the second round of criticism about the conduct of donor handouts.

Thankfully, Bradley passed this number, grabbing the coveted spot of number 50. He’ll have a front row seat from every Siggies in ’25 as he organizes the American program in Bethpage, leaving at least a few vacancies. to Webb Simpson.

Wounded Warriors

Max Homa didn’t think he’d be in contention for the FedEx Cup the night he finished T3 at the Masters in April. The arrow in his game was pointing upward, and even though he lost to Scheffler at Augusta, he didn’t seem upset about it.

Three months later, he stood at the lectern at the Open Championship as he discussed the “war within” that had threatened to consume his golf game all summer. He may not be happy with 43rd place in the FedEx Cup standings, but Homa will live to fight another day in full eligibility for the Signature Event.

He will be playing in those events with Will Zalatoris, who came in 36th with a strong finish to his season. Back injuries are a tricky state for golfers, and Zalatoris’ was unusually tricky given that level. His game hasn’t returned to its 2022 form, but after watching his death in golf last year, we bet he’ll happily take another year of golf eligibility (for now).

The Turnovers

50 automatic keys for Signature Events in 2025 are not available completely different in 2024, but different enough. A number of new additions, such as Max Greyserman, Stephen Jaeger and Aaron Rai dot the list. That should be a relief to PGA Tour officials: the Siggies’ ivory tower isn’t all that impossible to reach.

Who is out

Jordan Spieth

Wait, are we serious?

Yes, seriously. Spieth tied for 66th at the FedEx Cup in ’24 on Sunday at FedEx St. Jude Championship. He also downplayed the magnitude of the news by announcing his decision to undergo surgery “immediately” due to a long-term wrist condition, which could keep him out of competitive golf until early 2025.

As it stands, Spieth’s attendance at major PGA Tour events will not be guaranteed for the first time in his golf career. Thankfully, he’s likely to get all kinds of exemptions from sponsors in ’25, so it might not matter much if he’s not in the FedEx Top 50. Still, Sunday’s news was a surprise for a guy who played golf in the game. in the mid-2010s. It was also a reminder of how old it feels now.

Tom Kim

No top-50 miss was as painful on Sunday as Tom Kim’s, who stumbled all the way to FedEx St. Jude Championship for a T50 finish in the tournament, and the ever-unlikely 51st place in the FedEx Cup. .

Kim is one of the most easily billed for a sponsor, and his game has already given him a handful of wins on Tour, but Sunday’s finish was a uniquely bitter end to a painful couple of weeks.

The poor

Oh, you don’t do it play golf twelve times a year to earn a slice of $20 million? It won’t be the top 50 guys.

Honey, it’s time to buy that boat!

Min Woo Lee

It seemed like we were on the brink of the Min Woo Lee team’s season in ’24, but the signature victory never came. A couple of top-three finishes would be a good place for him to hang his hat, but a 60th place finish at the FedEx Cup would leave his 2025 plan looking a little different.

Jake Knapp

Who knew that a PGA Tour win, a T4 finish and a solo 8th place finish in one month wasn’t enough to earn a spot in next year’s Siggies? Well, now Jake Knapp knows. He finished in 59th place.

The President’s Cup

Thankfully, eligibility for the Signature Event is not a requirement for standing on the Presidents Cup roster, otherwise the Internationals would be without the all-important Canucks. Mackenzie Hughes (No. 52) and Nick Taylor (58) are sitting out heading into the final stages of the postseason, as well as next year’s Signature Events, although both players think they can be the core of the International Presidents Cup team that hopes to make big waves in Montreal in September.

Club golf events seem to shape our perception of which players are trending each year. Although giving points to the FedEx Cup will prove its quagmire (European players cannot compete in the event, which would be a penalty), it seems strange that the event would exist outside the context of the PGA Tour.

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is a news editor and features at GOLF, writing articles for websites and magazines. He manages Hot Mic, the GOLF media stand, and applies his camera knowledge to all product platforms. Before joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, at which time he was the recipient of a caddy (and atute looper) scholarship on Long Island, where he hails from. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.