9 players who will make you money this fall
Editor's Note: This article is published in partnership with Read The Line, a Golf Digest content partner.
David Jensen
When it comes to golf betting, there is no better time to hit long-odds winners than the fall schedule on the PGA Tour. Over the past two years, 12 of the 15 tournament winners have cashed greater than 35-1 odds. More than half (eight) have cleared more than 60-1!
If you love longshots, the FedEx Cup Fall Series is for you.
The 2026 PGA Tour fall calendar consists of eight full-field tournaments, two of which are brand new. Since the second season offers so many opportunities to cash large wins, the team at Read The Line has assembled a short list of names we believe will increase your bankroll over the next few months. Our list(s) take into consideration potential schedules, FedEx Cup points, career ascendancy, signature status and Korn Ferry graduation. The PGA Tour has created a greater sense of urgency by splitting the schedule into two tiers in 2028. The next three months will be pivotal for some players to jump into the 2027 signature events. Similarly, this fall is not the time to finish outside the top 100 and lose your card.
We love the fall series because a majority of the autumn events are shootouts. With all of the career weight consuming the players’ attention, each week should be even more entertaining.
As we prepare for more potential big-ticket trophy winners, John Haslbauer and I have highlighted our five favorites for fall financial gain. Keep an eye on these nine guys.
Keith Stewart’s fall favorites:
1. Ben James
David Jensen
Everyone is talking about Jackson Koivun, but don’t forget about Ben James. James joined the PGA Tour at the RBC Canadian Open in June. Ben led the event after 36 holes, making his professional debut. A T-23 at the US Open, T-4 at Corales Punta Cana and third place at the Wyndham Championship with just eight events under his belt, James sits at 108 on the points list. Ben’s SG/total would place him at eighth in the 2026 rankings! The fall favors bombers who can score, and Ben James can definitely do both.
2. Blades Brown
Johnnie Izquierdo
Sitting at 10th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list is Blades Brown. Each of the past two years, a fall winner has come from either the KFT or PGA Tour Americas. A minor leaguer will come up and win again. Few are as accomplished at the tour level as Brown. He has six top-18 finishes in 2026 on the PGA Tour and is ranked 10th on the KFT money list. Brown is getting his card—it is just a question of whether or not he wins before he starts his rookie season.
3. Harry Hall
Harry Hall is streaking heading into the fall season with a T-5 at the Wyndham Championship, T-24 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and a string of nice results over in Europe. Unlike many PGA Tour players, Hall enters the fall series with a contender’s mind-set. Hall closed the 2024 fall season with three straight top-15 finishes. Harry can score at these venues, and that’s the biggest key. A consistent statistical leader in putting and wedge play, at 56 on the FEC points list, Hall needs an aggressive fall run to maintain his current 2027 signature status.
4. Davis Thompson
Caleb Bowlin
Sitting at 77th on the FEC points list is Davis Thompson. The 2024 record-setting John Deere Classic winner finished his regular season campaign T-7, T-8, T-14. The ball-striking is impeccable, and if the flatstick is a concern, the Fall Series putting surfaces are not the most challenging greens these guys face. Sixth in SG/approach and top 25 in scoring on the PGA Tour, Thompson’s length and proximity scream shootout winner. Davis grew up at Sea Island, host of the RSM Classic, but that’s not the only fall venue he has contended at over the past three years. Like his alma mater, this Georgia Bulldog is built to win this fall.
5. Ben Kohles
Another hot name from the summer months is Ben Kohles. Kohles won the KFT BMW Charity Pro-Am and then went on an incredible run. In June, July, and August, Kohles accumulated five top 25s and two top 10s on the PGA Tour. Kohles held the lead at the John Deere Classic after 71 holes! If Ben qualified for the season-long stats, he would be ranked fourth in SG/total. Playing both tours, Kohles has kept up on the KFT money list and is 96th in FEC points. The top 100 get their card, but with Ben’s ball striking ability and more venues that fit his form, don’t be surprised if those close calls don’t finally cash in the next two months.
John Haslbauer’s fall favorites:
6. Jackson Koivun
Stacy Revere
Currently 67th in the FedEx Cup standings, Koivun still has some work to do to ensure he maintains his place inside the coveted Signature top 60. Having made just six PGA Tour starts as a professional, he'll come into the Fall Series feeling fresh and eager to get more competitive reps under his belt. Already a winner this year at the 3M Open, the sky is the limit for Jackson’s potential, who will be amongst the betting favorites every time he tees it. Pay special attention to Koivun at the RSM Classic, which has long rewarded elite Bermudagrass putters like himself.
7. Aldrich Potgieter
The courses featured in the Fall Series have never been known to be the sternest of tests, and even with two new venues on the docket this year, it still projects to be birdie-fests galore. Potgieter is a specialist on long, open courses that are susceptible to the bomb-and-gouge approach, and he'll have ample opportunities to flex his significant distance advantage in autumn. Aldrich will be eager to get another crack at the Mexico Open, where he lost in a playoff (2025), and profiles well for other wide-open, driver-heavy events like the Bank of Utah Championship, Butterfield Bermuda Championship and World Wide Technology Championship.
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8. Kevin Yu
David Jensen
Similar to Potgieter, Yu's elite distance off the tee should translate well in the fall, as demonstrated by his three top-20 finishes over this stretch last year. Yu peaked late in the 2026 regular season, finishing fourth in his final start at the Wyndham Championship, and T-16 at the 3M Open two starts prior. Watch out for Kevin at the Baycurrent Classic, where he has finished top 20 in each of the past two years, as well as the RSM Classic, where he finished T-11 in his most recent appearance (2024).
9. Garrick Higgo
Ever the procrastinator, Higgo was on time but late to secure a spot in the top 60 during last year's Fall Series. He had zero top-25 finishes over his final eight starts of the season, before stepping on the gas during the Fall Series. With finishes of T-7, second, T-4 and T-4 over his four 2025 FedEx Fall starts, he's proven he feels comfortable on these easier course setups. A year later, Higgo's form is nonetheless encouraging, but he'll be an appealing longshot to watch given his great course history across many of the Fall Series venues.