The 2026 PGA Tour regular season is now over and done, and the short post-season now begins. Let’s take a quick peek at how the former Bulldogs playing professional golf fared in Greensboro last week.
Sepp Straka started in 37th place in the FedEx Cup points race, missed the cut at the Wyndham, and starts the 70 man playoff field still in 37th.
Harris English started Wyndham in 49th place, also missed the cut, and fell to 51st… still eligible for the first playoff event.
Brian Harman was 63rd, missed
the cut, and fell dangerously to 65th.
Chris Kirk started 127th, was well positioned going into the weekend, but closed 71-71 to T72, which means he actually fell to 128th in points and his season is over (until the Fall events).
Keith Mitchell began the Wyndham in the 47 spot, made the cut on the number, shot 4 under on the weekend, got a T38, but still fell to 51st in FedEx.
And Davis Thompson, the ‘Dawg most likely to jump into the top 70 and the playoffs, played according to plan. An opening 64 followed by a Friday 68 put him in prime position. Saturday’s 65 left him first page of the leaderboard and a projected 68-69 in points, but his closing 71 dropped him into a tie for 14th. Which equates to 77th in FedEx, and only about 6 strokes out of getting into the playoffs. But onward and upward for the Classic City boys who did qualify.
Tournament: FedEx St. Jude Championship, August 13-11, 2026
Course: TPC Southwind, par 70, 7,288 yards. On the southeastern outskirts of Memphis, just past Germantown.
Purse: $20 million in total for 70 players, with 3.6 million to the winner and $41k for finishing DFL.
Defending Champ: Justin Rose. The Englishman with the most prototypical English face ever matched JJ Spaun after 72 holes, and defeated Spaun on the 3rd playoff hole.
TV Times: Golf Channel has 2-6 pm ET Thursday and Friday, and 1-3 pm ET on the weekend. CBS is still broadcasting golf, and takes over Saturday and Sunday at 3 pm ET. And if you stream, the ESPN app has live coverage all day from 7:45 am – 6 pm ET each day during the playoffs.
“Dawgs in the Field: 5.
The goal is to survive and advance. Players are seeded based on their points ranking during the regular season. The points are juiced in the playoff events in order to create volatility. So while this week starts with the top 70, only the top 50 after this week get to play the BMW Championship next week. From there, only the top 30 move on to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
Brian Harman – 65th: The wee lefty likely needs at least a tie for 8th this week in order to move inside the top 50.
Harris English- 51st: While there are thousands upon thousands of scenarios, Harry probably needs top 30 to move up a couple of spots to advance.
Keith Mitchell – 49th: mathematically only has to get 68th in Memphis to keep his spot, but I would be looking for better.
Sepp Straka – 37th: already inside the top 30, but it is possible for the 13 guys behind him, and a dozen more, to jump him this week. So a top 50 or better to be safe.
Russelll Henley – 15th: again, he looks to be safe all the way to Atlanta. But with the increased points available, and a jammed up board between 15th and 30th, you best play good and scare a top 10 to ensure making it to the finals. Yet he is almost guaranteed to play next week even if he doesn’t finish this week.
So we’ve got some drama and intrigue on the course, even if you need to be a golf nerd to feel it. It’s real enough for these guys, as the ramifications for your status next year could be entry to majors, signature events, and a couple million dollars in your pocket. Enjoy the golf, and as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!
