Matt Kuchar is weighing one of the most consequential decisions of his two-decade PGA Tour career: whether to activate a coveted career-money exemption for 2026, or attempt to navigate the season with only conditional status.
The dilemma follows an unusually flat campaign for the 47-year-old, who finished 118th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings after a T67 at the RSM Classic.
Kuchar was one of a number of big names to lose a full PGA Tour card.
In any other year, Kuchar’s 118th position would have secured full status, but with the PGA Tour lowering the cutoff from the top 125 to the top 100, Kuchar’s 19th consecutive fully exempt season came to an abrupt end.
Instead, he enters 2026 with conditional status and a choice.
Kuchar can spend one of his two career-money exemptions—available to players inside the top 25 on the PGA Tour’s all-time earnings list—or he can rely on his current category and hope his number is called often enough.
It’s a decision complicated by the PGA Tour’s increasingly stratified schedule.
“This is a different PGA Tour from when I first joined in 2002,” Kuchar said after finishing well down the board on home Georgia turf at the RSM Classic.
With eight signature events, four majors, The Players Championship and three FedEx Cup Playoffs events now making up the top tier, Kuchar is currently ineligible for all of them next season—regardless of whether he uses his exemption.
“I don’t know how many starts I’ll get,” he admitted.
“I don’t know if using an exemption will get me any different starts. It’s a tricky one. It’s not going to get you into any elevated events.”
Kuchar has a big decision to make
PGA Tour officials project that players finishing between 101st and 110th in the final standings typically earn around 16 starts in the 19-event regular season, plus nearly all FedEx Cup Fall events.
Kuchar, at No. 118, sits just outside that bracket and it raises the possibility that burning one of his exemptions might not yield a meaningful upgrade in playing opportunities.
“We’re in somewhat uncharted territory,” said Kuchar.
“I’m guessing they’ve run the numbers, but I don’t know how well their scenarios work out.”
If there is a silver lining, it’s that Kuchar has time—and financial cushion—on his side.
A model of consistency for most of his career, he ranks 15th on the all-time PGA Tour money list with $61,538,738.
That places him more than $15 million clear of the player in 25th (Webb Simpson), meaning delaying the use of his top-25 career-money exemption would not jeopardise his eligibility to claim it later.
The American’s decision is expected well before the Sony Open in Hawaii from 15-18 January 2026, the new season opener following the cancellation of The Sentry due to drought-related water restrictions on Maui.
|
Rank |
Player |
Money |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
$120,999,166 |
|
|
2 |
$107,981,766 |
|
|
3 |
$99,453,136 |
|
|
4 |
$96,727,968 |
|
|
5 |
$75,695,066 |
|
|
6 |
$73,736,017 |
|
|
7 |
$71,507,269 |
|
|
8 |
$71,281,216 |
|
|
9 |
$70,601,520 |
|
|
10 |
$69,759,328 |
|
|
11 |
$65,901,630 |
|
|
12 |
$64,871,738 |
|
|
13 |
$62,135,509 |
|
|
14 |
$62,072,317 |
|
|
15 |
$61,538,738 |
|
|
16 |
$57,745,258 |
|
|
17 |
$56,124,514 |
|
|
18 |
$55,097,412 |
|
|
19 |
$54,137,235 |
|
|
20 |
$53,548,768 |
Kuchar’s 2025 season offered flashes but little momentum: only one top-10 finish (a T5 at the John Deere Classic) yet just two missed cuts in 18 starts.
While he remains competitive, Kuchar openly acknowledges the frustrations of keeping pace with the Tour’s younger, faster-scoring generation.
“It’s not the 2025 that I hoped for,” said Kuchar, who ranks 19th for all-time PGA Tour top-10 finishes (119).
“It was a frustrating year. I think I missed only two cuts, but I didn’t seem to put together the weeks where you hit it well and putt it well.”
Now, as he edges toward PGA Tour Champions eligibility in three years time, the veteran must choose between banking on conditional starts or protecting long-term flexibility by cashing in one of his exemptions.
It is a decision that will help shape the twilight of a career defined by consistency.