![]() With just one top-10 in his last 10 full field starts, Matsuyama seems to be legitimately at risk. ![]() 30 cutoff (in less than a year, he’s gone from 12th to 22nd … do the math), and his FedEx Cup ranking is below the playoff line. 22 World Ranking, that’s not far above the No. But Matsuyama would be protected as things stand by his No. This is someone who you have to imagine the PGA Tour really, really doesn’t want to be absent from the designated events next year. It’s hard to imagine a world where Burns, 26, misses out on the designated events in ’24, but maybe not as hard as you might think. He’s still 14th in the world, but while Burns is not exactly struggling, he’s been mostly treading water in the 2022-23 season, and will be in trouble if the most he can do is maintain this pace. Here again, we see a guy who has started to assert himself among the game’s top players, having won twice in 2022, and yet isn’t as secure as you might think. It would be at least a little odd if he was nowhere to be found among the game’s best a year from now. ![]() ![]() But despite the fact he never claimed a major title, he’s still one of the most recognizable figures in the sport, a likely future Ryder Cup captain, and the kind of player whose game would seem to translate well to old age. We could have a healthy debate as to whether Kuchar, 44, is too old for anyone to label it a “surprise” if he misses out on 2024’s elite events. At seventh in the World Ranking, it would take a mighty struggle to see him fall past 30, and at the very least, he’s the safest of anyone on this list. However, aside from a fourth-place finish at the Genesis, Zalatoris is looking for the form that saw him come close in two majors and win a playoff event last year. The 26-year-old also didn’t start his season until January, sitting out the fall with a back injury. The caveat to his play so far, like many on this list, is that the year is young. This year for the first time only 70 players instead of 125 will make the tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs altogether, and while Zalatoris is inside that cut line, he’s not inside by much. Will Zalatoris (65th in FedEx Cup standings) Here are seven high-profile players who have a surprising amount of work to do in order to secure their spots in next year’s designated events. Others, though, are in a bit of a pickle. Two of those struggling in the FedEx Cup thus far in 2023, Justin Thomas (75th) and Matt Fitzpatrick (89th) are probably fine regardless as recent major winners, they’re unlikely to drop out of the top 30 in the World Ranking (but would still miss the last two FEC Playoff events if they don’t find their games soon). As of the first week in March, there are several players on the outside looking who will raise an eyebrow. It also has us looking at who might make it and who might fall short. Suffice it to say, the safest/cleanest route is to finish in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup, which gives this summer’s race to that number-determined after the first FEC Playoff event, the FedEx St. Fail that, and you can be saved if you’re in the current top 10 of the standings, if you’re top 30 in the World Ranking, if you win a tournament in the current year, or if you nab one of the small number of spots allotted for success in the most recent standard events. The first is to finish the previous year in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings. To qualify for the lucrative designated event, there are a few pathways.
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