ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Ludvig Aberg robbed the trophy hunt of any drama by shooting 61 to win by four strokes at the RSM Classic, but the final round at Sea Island Resort’s Seaside Course still had plenty of Sunday drama thanks to the tournament within the tournament.
On the final day of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season, a veteran rallied to keep full status for next season, a bubble boy had his bubble pop and another veteran pro shed tears after the realization that he had failed in his quest to stay in the top 125.
Here’s a look at how things shook out for The Next 10, the top 125 and the top 150 on Sunday.
Ryan Moore delivers, Troy Merritt hangs on, Carl Yuan's bubble bursts
Ryan Moore came through in the clutch. Entering the week at No. 128, he shot bogey-free rounds of 62-65 to finish T-8 at the RSM Classic and vault to No. 118 and earn full status for the 2024 season. He was the only player to move into the top 125 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and will be exempt into all full-field events and the Players Championship next season.
“I thought I needed that birdie on 17 to get it done, or at least one in those last two. I somehow just made that one go in,” he said, noting the nerves reminded him of trying to win a golf tournament coming down the stretch. “Starting this fall at I think 150th or something like that, I was pretty far out of it, a lot of points out of it.”
One of the differences for Moore this fall was a change in putters to an Odyssey Rossie AI putter.
“We had it narrowed down to like two or three putters that looked pretty good, and my 7-year-old was out there, Sully, and I was like, ‘Hey buddy, which one you like better?’ He walked over, kind of examined them. He was like that one. I was like, I’m committing to it.”
Troy Merritt, who started the week at No. 123 and missed the cut on Friday, hung on to the final spot at No. 125 in the standings by less than two points. The hard-luck loser was Carl Yuan. He entered the week as the bubble boy at 125 and remained there heading into the final round. He made birdies on his final two holes but it wasn’t enough as he sprinkled four bogeys on his card and finished with an even-par 70 (T-68) and slipped to No. 126 in the standings.
“It was a pressure week, not gonna lie,” he said. “I didn’t leave any out there.”
But he noted that his back bothered him this week and may have affected his play.
“The bed at the Airbnb is just too soft for me, started bugging me on like Thursday night,” he said. “Tried to rehab and do stuff like that, but definitely bugged me a little bit. You know, that comes with the profession. I’ve got to handle my body well. It’s my responsibility.”
Conditional status is better than no status
Yuan looked at the bright side. He’ll still get starts by playing out of the Nos. 126-150 category. That’s more than Paul Haley II can look forward to next season.
Patton Kizzire, who has had full status since 2015, shed tears during a post-round interview.
“I’ve tried to keep the emotions down, but they’re kind of coming on right now,” he said. “This is what I’ve always wanted to do since I was a kid. They asked me what I wanted to do when I was in second grade and I said I want to be a professional golfer and I’ve never changed my mind, so here I am.”
Kelly Kraft and Vince Whaley both leaped inside the top 150 this week, though Whaley had a medical exemption as a backup plan.
“You never want to be in this position let alone I’m fighting to stay inside the top 150 because I played so terrible the first half of the year,” Kraft said. “Would have been a little more fun trying to stay inside the 125, but the way I played for most of the year until really towards the end and then now the fall, I played terrible and I kind of deserved to lose my card after playing that way. I turned it on this fall, I played great, made every cut, some top-25 finishes, so proud of the way I played this fall.”
Kraft delivered on Sunday with a 5-under 65, including a clutch birdie at 17.
“It was the most nervy round of the year,” he said. “Hit a lot of good shots under the gun. Hit a couple bad shots today that were just purely nervous swings.”
The unlucky two to fall out of the top 150 were Webb Simpson, who has exemption status from wins through 2026, and Paul Haley II, who missed the cut and fell to No. 151.
While conditional status beats nothing, Kraft said he would be in Florida for Q-School, where five full-exempt status cards are available.
“I spent my 3,500 bucks and signed up for it, so right now I’m planning on going,” Kraft said. “They’re full cards, so I can, you know, just go there and hit it at every hole and try to finish first. If I can improve my status, then I will.”
JJ's got next
Status was long ago secured for those battling for the Next 10 but Sunday mattered to them nonetheless. Nos. 51-60 in the standings qualify for two Signature Events in 2024 via The Next 10 (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Genesis Invitational). One player moved in: champion Ludvig Åberg jumped from No. 96 to No. 53. Alex Smalley fell out from No. 57 to No. 61.
J.J. Spaun was on the outside looking in heading into the final round but made eight birdies and shot 7-under 63 to finish T-13 and hang on to the No. 59 spot. Sam Ryder, the bubble boy at No. 60 entering the week, made an eagle at No. 5 and closed in 68 to finish T-13. He made a bogey at 16 and was projected at No. 60. In clutch fashion, he made par and birdie to finish out the week and complete his goal of earning Signature Event starts on the West Coast.
The Next 10
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- No. 51 Mackenzie Hughes
- No. 52 Beau Hossler
- No. 53 Ludvig Åberg
- No. 54 Ben Griffin
- No. 55 Taylor Montgomery
- No. 56 Matt Kuchar
- No. 57 Nick Hardy
- No. 58 J.J. Spaun
- No. 59 Sam Ryder
- No. 60 Luke List
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