Lucas Herbert leads an Australian contingent of four as the PGA Tour restarts at the Sanderson Farms event after a pause for the Ryder Cup in Rome.
Bendigo native Herbert played his first event after a seven-week break at the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California last month. In wine country, Herbert shot a PGA Tour career-low 63 to lead after the first round and then battled some competitive rust to finish tied for 30th.
Now, he tees up at the The Country Club of Jackson of the Sanderson Farms event in Jackson, Mississippi, looking for a second career victory on the PGA Tour and second professional title in 2023 having claimed his third career DP World Tour victory at the ISPGA Handa Championship in Japan earlier this year. Herbert’s maiden PGA Tour victory was the the 2021 Bermuda Championship.
Herbert currently sits 146th on the FedEx Cup Fall points list and is exempt on the PGA Tour through the end of the 2024 season courtesy of his Bermuda victory.
Sydneysider Harrison Endycott is playing to keep his PGA Tour card having missed the top 70 in FedEx Cup points who retained their status. He finished the 2023 season ranked 129th in FedEx Cup points and has dropped two spots to 131st on the FedEx Fall series. He’ll need to climb back inside the top 125 by the conclusion of the RSM Classic on November 19 to keep his tour card. (More info on how the FedEx Cup Fall (autumn) series is detailed below.)
Australian veteran Cameron Percy is also in the field courtesy of playing on conditional status having finished in the 126-150 in 2021-22 FedExCup Playoffs, which extends eligibility points to 2022-2023. He’s coming off a missed cut in Napa. Percy is joined by fellow veteran Greg Chalmers.
Fall series details from PGATour.com: “After the conclusion of the FedExCup Playoffs, players ranked 51st and beyond in the FedEx Cup will continue to compete for points in the fall. They will begin the fall with all points earned in the Regular Season and the first FedEx Cup Playoffs event, the FedEx St Jude Championship.
Additionally, the top 10 players on the FedEx Cup Points List at the conclusion of the FedExCup Fall who are not yet eligible for the Signature Events will get into the two Signature Events following the season-opening The Sentry. This allows for trending players to emerge from the FedEx Cup Fall and test their skills against the game’s best.
Nos.51-70 in the FedEx Cup at the start of the fall have already clinched their top-125 eligibility for the following year but are competing for spots in the first two Signature Events after The Sentry.
Nos.71 and beyond can earn one of the 10 spots available in those Signature Events but they also are competing to finish in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings at the conclusion of the fall.
At the end of the FedEx Cup Fall, those that rank from 126-150 on the final FedExCup Fall Points List will have conditional status for the 2024 PGA Tour Season.
All players outside the top 125 can improve or regain tour status via PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.”
