Dahmen, Berger headline bubble boys fighting for PGA Tour cards

There are just two official events left before the PGA Tour’s 2024 schedule comes to a close. Historically, this time of the year is a sleepy stretch for the sport; however, with the fall portion of the calendar re-engineered as essentially its own campaign, these final tournaments carry more significance as players are fighting to keep their tour cards.

As the tour winds down with this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, followed by the season-finale RSM Classic, we take a look at the boys hovering around the bubble. It should be noted not all those outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup points list—the cutoff to retain full status for 2025—are in danger of losing status; Gary Woodland may look like he's in a precarious spot at No. 137, but he still has one more year of eligibility left thanks to his 2019 U.S. Open win, while Michael Thorbjornsen (No. 136) is fully exempt for 2025 for finishing first in the PGA Tour U ranking. But Woodland and Thorbjornsen are the lucky ones. Here are six notable names on the FedEx Cup bubble playing for a place to play in 2025:

Daniel Berger

Berger returned from an 18-month injury absence this January. He has been tending to an issue with his lower disc, along with deep bone sensitivity, problems that made playing an excruciating endeavor and kept him sidelined since the 2022 U.S. Open. In an interview with the Associated Press last year, Berger said he had to take ice baths before he could tee it up and that something as simple as sitting in a car brought pain. Berger is a four-time PGA Tour winner, and appeared at the 2017 Presidents Cup and 2021 Ryder Cup for the American team. Prior to his abbreviated 2022 season he was coming off back-to-back $4 million campaigns and was inside the world’s top 25 ranking. It was a tough reassimilation to tour life, as Berger missed the cut in 11 of his first 21 starts this year with just one top-20 finish. But Berger has showed signs of life in the fall, finishing seventh at the Sanderson Farms Championship and T-20 last week at the World Wide Technology Championship. At No. 124 on the FedEx Cup points standings heading into Bermuda, he needs two decent showings to end the fall, although he is in control of his destiny.

Wes Bryan

The trick-shot savant hasn’t finished inside the FedEx Cup top 125 since 2017, when he captured his lone tour victory at Hilton Head, battling a litany of injury issues over the past few years. His horizon didn’t look bright at the start of the fall series, beginning the late-season push outside the top 150. But Bryan has been coming on strong this autumn, entering Bermuda with three top-25 finishes in his last four starts (highlighted by a T-6 a week ago in Cabo). And at No. 128, he has a viable shot at full-time status for 2025. Bryan gets the chance to play with his brother George at the Butterfield, where he made the cut last year.

Joel Dahmen

“I want to keep my job out here,” Dahmen said on Sunday in Cabo. “My story is not finished.” It’s been a trying year for the fan favorite, as short-game woes have Dahmen on the hot seat. For his part he hasn’t gone quietly into the night, making three of his last four cuts, with last week’s T-14 serving as his third top-15 finish in 2024. He’s on the right side of the line for now at No. 121, but his spot is far from secured. Still, Dahmen seems up for the challenge. “It would mean the world,” he said of keeping his card. “I think it would mean more this year, just the grind that it's been. Golf has been relatively easy for me for five years. Haven't really been in this position before … It's really hard to keep grinding when things aren't going your way.”

Kevin Streelman

The 46-year-old has put together a remarkable career, racking up 460 starts and winning more than $27 million on the course. But the two-time tour winner has serious work to do over the next two weeks at No. 139. Fortunately for Streelman, he’s been playing some of his best golf of the season, nearly winning the Black Desert Championship (T-3) and finishing T-24 last week.

Alejandro Tosti

Among Golf Twitter’s favorite players to follow, Tosti has experienced an up-and-down campaign in his rookie season. He’s missed the cut in 14 of 26 starts and ranks 162nd in strokes gained. Conversely, a T-2 at the Houston Open has kept him alive, with a top-10 finish in October at the Shriners Children's Open helping his case. At No. 129, Tosti can punch his ticket with two decent back-to-back outings.

Hayden Springer

Currently the man at No. 125, Springer earned his card by finishing in the top five at last year’s revamped Q School. He bounced back after six straight missed cuts with back-to-back top-10s this summer at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic (where he shot a 59 in the opening round), and a T-8 at the Sanderson put him in good position. However, Springer proceeded to miss his next two cuts and finished T-45 in Cabo to be back on the bubble. A good week in Bermuda can make all the angst go away.