Sahith Theegala took home the 2023 Fortinet Championship, his first win on the PGA Tour. | Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
The Procore Championship kicks off in Napa Valley, signaling the start of an important FedEx Cup Fall for many PGA Tour pros.
Less than two weeks after Scottie Scheffler won the Tour Championship in Atlanta, the FedEx Cup Fall begins at this week’s Procure Championship, held at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California.
A series of eight events, the FedEx Cup Fall offers plenty of opportunity for players who finished outside the top 50 in the 2024 FedEx Cup rankings. Players ranked from 51st to 60th will comprise the ‘Aon Next 10’ to open 2025, thus securing places in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational—the first two Signature Events of the season. Points do not reset for those who finished outside of the top 50, giving players like Tom Kim, who narrowly missed out on the BMW Championship in Colorado, a leg up over many others. Kim enters this week ranked 51st in the field, with a nearly 700-point lead over Canadian Mackenzie Hughes, who is 52nd. Hence, Kim will skip this week in Napa, opting to take more time off between now and the Presidents Cup in Montreal in two weeks.
But another factor in this decision is that, no matter what happens, Kim will still hold the top spot after this week in Napa. The winner receives 500 FedEx Cup points, which significantly impact a player’s trajectory for 2025, but that is still not enough to dethrone Kim at 51st, the top spot.
Every FedEx Cup Fall event will award 500 FedEx Cup points to their champion as the schedule of these eight events follows below.
The Black Desert Championship in Utah is a new addition to the schedule, while the ZOZO Championship in Japan will feature a limited, 78-man field during the final weekend in October. The other seven tournaments are full-field events, open to any PGA Tour member, even those who finished in the top 50- last season. That includes those who made the top 50—and thus qualified for all eight Signature Events next season. It’s just that these players will receive no FedEx Cup points for their performances.
PGA Tour FedEx Cup Fall Schedule:
Sept. 12-15: Procore Championship — Silverado Resort, Napa, Calif.
Sept. 26-29: Presidents Cup — Royal Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Oct. 3-6: Sanderson Farms Championship — Country Club of Jackson, Jackson, Miss.
Oct. 10-13: Black Desert Championship — Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah
Oct. 17-20: Shriners Children’s Open — TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nev.
Oct. 24-27: ZOZO Championship — Accordia Golf, Chiba, Japan
Nov. 7-10: World Wide Technologies Championship — El Cardonal at Diamante, Mexico
Nov. 14-17: Butterfield Bermuda Championship — Port Royal GC, Southampton, Bermuda
Nov. 21-24: RSM Classic — Sea Island Golf Club, St. Simons Island, Georgia
Photo by Al Chang/Getty Images
Sahith Theegala won the Fortinet Championship last year, which has been renamed the Procure Championship due to sponsorship reasons.
How To Watch Procure Championship (All Times ET):
Thurs. Sept. 12: 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Fri. Sept. 13: 6-9:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Sat. Sept. 14: 6-9:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Sun. Sept. 15: 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Procure Championship Preview
Even though he finished third at the Tour Championship, California native Sahith Theegala returns to his home state to defend his title from his first PGA Tour victory a year ago. Theegala arrives in good form and as the favorite, hoping to follow in Max Homa’s footsteps by winning this tournament in back-to-back years. Homa, who won this event in 2021 and 2022, will also tee it up this week, wishing his game returns. Since missing the cut at the U.S. Open, Homa’s results have been putrid, to say the least: T-61, T-70, T-43, 70, T-33.
Yet, Presidents Cup captain Jim Furyk picked Homa to join him in Montreal in two weeks, a controversial decision that actually aligns with what Ryder Cup Captain Zach Johnson did a year ago. Instead of picking Keegan Bradley, a player who had a better summer, Johnson picked Justin Thomas, a match-play savant and a stalwart within the American locker room. One year later, Furyk picked Homa, not Thomas, who had recently outperformed Homa by a wide margin. Nevertheless, Homa will try to use this week to uplift his confidence before the big tilt against the Internationals in Canada. Thomas, meanwhile, will not play this week.
Wyndham Clark is the only other American who will play in both Napa and Montreal. Clark arrives at the Procure Championship after a strong season despite his shortcomings in the majors. He posted eight top 10s, which included his historic win at Pebble Beach and a pair of runner-ups at TPC Sawgrass and Bay Hill. He played well in every non-major since the U.S. Open, with his best finish being a T-7 in Memphis. He most recently finished in solo eighth at East Lake. Yet, Clark received tremendous flack after his first round at the Olympics, in which he carded an opening round 4-over 75. But he silenced the naysayers by shooting 15-under over the final 54 holes, matched by only Scheffler, who took home gold. Many golf fans criticized Clark for his poor play in majors, which is warranted. Yet, he still put together a strong season, despite his only career major top-10 being his victory at the Los Angeles Country Club in 2023.
Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
The 18th hole at Silverado Resort during the 2023 Fortinet Championship.
Other notables in this week’s field include Min Woo Lee, Corey Conners, and Hughes, who will represent the Internationals. Captain Mike Weir received a sponsor’s invite, meaning he will play this week, too. As will international vice captain Camilo Villegas, who won a FedEx Cup Fall event a season ago in Bermuda. Furyk’s top two assistants, Stewart Cink and Kevin Kisner, will play this week, too.
Other sponsor exemptions include star collegiate players Luke Clanton and Ben James. Despite retaining amateur status, Clanton is one of the favorites this week, and rightfully so. The Florida State Seminole posted a runner-up finish at the John Deere Classic, and his most recent PGA Tour start came at the Wyndham Championship, where he tied for fifth. Of his six starts on tour this summer, he only missed one cut: the 3M Open in Minnesota. Neal Shipley, who was the low amateur at Augusta National and the U.S. Open but has since turned professional, accepted an invite as well.
As for non-Presidents Cup participants and non-sponsor invitees, Joel Dahmen will look to make some headway towards the 2025 season by turning in a solid performance in Napa. Dahmen is currently 116th in the FedEx Cup Fall rankings, in danger of falling out of the top 125, another essential barometer for PGA Tour pros over these next few months. The top 125 players earn full status for the 2025 season, while players ranked 126th through 150th in the final FedEx Cup Fall rankings receive conditional status. But those with conditional status will be fighting for starts next year, an uphill battle nobody wants to face, let alone Dahmen.
Wesley Bryan is also in the field, as are Eric Cole, Charley Hoffman, and Tom Hoge, one of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour. Beau Hossler, Matt Kuchar, Keith Mitchell, and PGA Tour Policy Board Member Webb Simpson are four other household names in the field this week. All of them could use a bevy of FedEx Cup points to improve their positioning. And then we have Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion who overcame tremendous adversity over the past year, teeing it up this week, too.
Procure Championship Odds
Here are the latest odds for players to win the Procure Championship, provided by FanDuel:
Sahith Theegala +1110
Wyndham Clark +1200
Corey Conners +1400
Luke Clanton +1600
Max Homa +2000
Min Woo Lee +2200
Maverick McNealy +2200
Keith Mitchell +3000
J.J. Spaun +4000
Brendon Todd +4000
Eric Cole +4000
Harris English +4000
Tom Hoge +4000
Patrick Rodgers +4000
Beau Hossler +5000
Mackenzie Hughes +5500
Doug Ghim +5500
Jhonattan Vegas +5500
Chan Kim +5500
Adam Svensson +5500
Mac Meissner +5500
Sam Stevens +5500
Matt Kuchar +6000
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
