Mackenzie Hughes, Carl Yuan benefit from updated FedExCup list

Mackenzie Hughes can book his trip to Maui, while Carl Yuan will avoid the stresses of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

Those were among the items announced in a memo sent Monday evening to the PGA TOUR’s membership.

Hughes and Yuan were among the players impacted by an update to the final FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List for the 2023 season. That list was created last year so that PGA TOUR members were not negatively impacted by players suspended for their participation in an unauthorized tournament or their association with a series of unauthorized tournaments.

Hughes has earned a spot in all eight of next year’s Signature Events, including The Sentry, after moving up one spot to No. 50 in the latest edition of the FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List, which was released Monday.

He moved up a spot after Jon Rahm was informed, in accordance with PGA TOUR Tournament Regulations, that he is suspended and no longer eligible to participate in PGA TOUR tournament play.

Hughes was one of several players who moved up a spot on the FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List and inside crucial season-ending benchmarks on the PGA TOUR. With Hughes moving into the top 50, Alex Smalley has earned starts in two Signature Events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational.

Nick Hardy is the next player behind Hughes in the FedExCup standings through the TOUR Championship; the top 50 after the conclusion of the FedExCup Playoffs earned exemptions into all of 2024’s Signature Events. Stephan Jaeger and Alex Noren are the next two players behind Smalley in the final FedExCup Fall standings. Nos. 51-60 after the fall earn spots in the two West Coast Signature Events as part of The Next 10.

By moving to No. 125, Yuan now retains fully-exempt status for 2024 and earns a spot in THE PLAYERS. Paul Haley II retains conditional status for the 2024 season by moving from No. 151 to No. 150, and Jonas Blixt has moved to No. 200 on the FedExCup Playoffs and Eligibility Points List, which carries ramifications for status on the DP World Tour. Blixt already is exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour for 2024.

Henrik Norlander, Maverick McNealy and Patton Kizzire now occupy Nos. 126-128 in the FedExCup Fall standings; the top 125 retain fully-exempt status for 2024. Webb Simpson, who is fully-exempt through 2026 via his wins at THE PLAYERS and other events, is now No. 151 in the standings, while Nicholas Lindheim is No. 201. Lindheim already has earned his 2024 PGA TOUR card via the Korn Ferry Tour, however.

Monday’s memo also informed TOUR members that the PGA TOUR Policy Board and management team are looking into concerns about the FedExCup points distribution for Signature Events. That points distribution was the fruit of considerable effort and significant modeling to ensure that it fulfilled the aims of the 2024 Schedule Model, which included new points distributions for the eight Signature Events. Winners of THE PLAYERS earn 750 points, while Signature Events award 700 points to their champions. Wins in Full-Field Events are worth 500 points and victories in tournaments held the same week as other TOUR events award 300 points.

"We believe the model approved by the Board is the best model to achieve" the goals of the 2024 Schedule Model, the memo stated.

FedExCup points will be closely monitored through the season, the memo stated, and a thorough review of the points will now take place at the June 2024 Policy Board Meeting. Any necessary adjustments before the 2025 season will be discussed at that time, as well.

“The Board is listening to the concerns expressed from individual members,” the memo said, “and takes those concerns seriously.”