Spieth, Koivun and Real Stakes: 10 things for the Fall PGA Tour Season

Autumn is (essentially) here! It's the best season by far, and anyone who says otherwise should be shipped to Vladimir Putin's worst gulag. As the earth cools slightly from the miserable oppressive heat of our latest apocalyptic summer, so too does the professional golf calendar lose its blinding intensity. Yes, we have the Presidents Cup to watch next weekend, and we had some fun with the Walker Cup and Solheim Cup. Yes, they're going to do those Golf Olympics things on the Golf Channel again in December. Yes, times are good in Europe, with the Race to Dubai coming down to a blood feud between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed. And yes, Tiger Woods will be dragged out in public, at least as host, at the Hero World Challenge.

But we're not here to talk about all that. We are here, you and me, to talk about what remains of the PGA Tour: the good ole Fall Swing. There are eight tournaments between this week's Biltmore Championship in beautiful Asheville, N.C., and the season-ending RSM Classic in Georgia's even beautiful-er barrier islands, and as a fall golf apologist, there's nobody quite like me to serve as the ferryman to row you through the fall season and deliver you to winter. Are there things to look forward to, storylines to savor, players to love?

OH YEAH.

1. What's actually at stake here?

Explaining this feels a little like a contractual obligation, especially now that a newer, funner tour format is just a year away, but let's do it anyway, and let's do it in a single sentence. Take a big breath. You ready?

The top 50 in FedEx Cup points are already set for next year's signatures but can still play in these events but probably won't very much unless the blackmail is very good and as you see Jacob Bridgeman is the only OWGR top 30 in Asheville so mostly the players below have something to play starting with those close to No. 100 because the top 100 get full status and after that it's just conditional unless they can catch fire at Q-School in December and while Nos. 51-70 are already locked into the top 100 they can still play for the AON Next 10, which means the top 10 players on the FedEx Cup points list not already eligible, which gets them into the next two 2027 signature events after The Sentry and also if you win a tournament you get the full two-year exemption a spot in the Players but not a Masters berth anymore.

If you read that, understood it and don't like it, don't worry—Brian Rolapp and the Future Competitions Committee is essentially (and happily) stripping it for parts after this season.

2. The Jordan Spieth Sadness Index (JSSI)

When last we left the index, we were at a -5.4, incredibly happy and optimistic about Spieth's future. We're still there, or at least close, but the question is, how much will he actually play? He finished the year 52nd on the points list, so while he has his top 100 locked up, in theory he'll want to compete for those signature event spots. He's not in Asheville but it looks like we'll see him at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan, and that is cause for celebration. The Sadness Index remains at -5.4, joy and promise abound. The promised prince has turned the fall into the spring!

3. Do we get to visit exotic locales?

Yes! Japan, Bermuda, Mexico twice, a return to Austin (although sadly not for match play), and the aforementioned Barrier Islands, which truly are a beautiful slice of America … there's a reason that St. Simon's Island has the second-largest contingent of tour players outside of Jupiter. Now, whether these locations do anything for you is a different question, because clearly the foreign sites are mostly just resorts. Hey, at least golf is spreading across the globe.

On the theme of the Rolapp-volution, it's going to be way better when top players start spending their fall in places like Australia and Europe in the International Series. Might be as soon as next year.

4. The Koivun Show continues!

This is actually my most anticipated part of the fall, and definitely the highlight of the first week—Jackson Koivun is back and fighting for entry into the signature events. I was excited for him in a vague way when he turned pro, and that vagueness turned very real and very specific when he won his third start. He's the most intriguing guy on the fall series, and I hope he plays every event. Also, kudos to him for being one of only two American Presidents Cup players (along with Jacob Bridgeman) teeing it up in Asheville, thereby getting a bit of warm-up for Medinah. Is it only because he kinda has to for positioning, since he's 67th in points and wants to fight his way into signature events? Sure. But still, he and Bridgeman are there, and the rest are not after a weekend WD by Justin Thomas. I hope Captain Brandt Snedeker benches the rest of his team in Thursday’s opening session and only sends out the Koivun/Bridgeman team, sacrificing the entire session to prove a point. [Gene Hackman voice] "MY TEAM IS ON THE COURSE!"

5. Dig the new tour tracks

We have a couple tour debutantes in the course department, starting with The Cliffs at Walnut Cove this week and the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin (godawful name). They're designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio, respectively, and even though I've never been to Walnut Cove, I've been all over the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I can guarantee you it's going to be beautiful. Read more here. As for the Austin Fazio course, I have no clue, but the best chicken sandwich in existence is at the Spicy Boys truck on East Sixth St. I would die for one of those sandwiches right now. I would even kill. Actually, I would prefer to kill.

Related: I'm fairly convinced Asheville is the greatest small city in America. It's one of those cities where the pure vibes put you on a different plane of happiness. Go to Asheville, it will solve all your problems.

6. Is Max Homa back from the dead?

It's a little uncertain, but finishing solo second to Chris Gotterup at the John Deere Classic bumped Homa way up in the FEC standings, and he finished 53rd after a T-24 in the first playoff event in Memphis. I think we'll see him plenty in the fall, and I'll admit I have a secret fantasy that he'll rediscover his old form this year, make the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup team and help defeat the Euros in Ireland while an entire continent weeps. Far-fetched? Yes. Should I probably not use the words "secret fantasy" to describe it? Also yes.

7. Will we see Patrick Reed in an American tour event?

It's possible! Reed's time in the PGA Tour penalty box came to an end Aug. 25, and while he doesn't have member status for the fall events, he could play via sponsor's exemption or try to qualify in. What makes this less likely, though, is that he's currently first in the Race to Dubai standings in Europe, which means that will undoubtedly be his primary focus, and also he's slated to earn status for next year with a top-10 finish there, and had past champion status anyway. Which means there's no great reason for him to tee it up between now and Sea Island stateside, but … you never know.

8. What about Brooks Koepka?

Book it. Koepka is 94th in the FEC standings and will need to play in order to stay inside the top 100. He's not going to Asheville, and it looks like he's hanging around Europe for the Dunhill Links, but I suspect we'll see him in the second half of the fall. Interestingly, after returning from LIV via the "you're very famous, come on back" exemption, he was at his best in the first half of 2026 and slowed down considerably around the time of the U.S. Open. Watching him try to get his mojo back will give some of these drowsy fall events a little bit of extra zazz.

9. The Rogue Golf Thought: Rise of the Plucky Fall Internationals

You know how I said only Koivun and Bridgeman are getting a Presidents Cup warmup this week in Asheville? The International team has FIVE players in the field. Dedication! Grit! And a little something called … heart. Why, with this kind of moxie, I can see them only losing 18-12 in Medinah!

10. The Rogue Non-Golf Thought: Raking leaves is the only outdoor chore that has gotten less annoying with age

Can someone explain this to me? Mowing the lawn is equally annoying as when I was a kid, shoveling snow is a billion times worse (thank you, North Carolina, for having almost no snow compared to my upstate N.Y. childhood), and things like weeding or painting are at least incrementally worse because they involve bending over, which is now the equivalent of running a marathon in a wool suit. But raking leaves? Somehow, that got therapeutic and fun, at least until my children jump in the piles and ruin everything. Otherwise, it's a breeze. This must be why the Japanese have those gardens where you rake sand for inner peace. Something about the sweepy raking motion just really hits the adult sweet spot.