Copyright Athlon Sports
The PGA TOUR arrives in Cabo San Lucas this week for the World Wide Technology Championship, and anyone dismissing this as just another fall event hasn’t been watching closely. Three tournaments remain in the FedExCup Fall. El Cardonal at Diamante will be a pressure cooker where careers hang in the balance and dreams either take shape or vanish under the Mexican sun. These are the storylines that matter most as the TOUR heads south of the border. The Bubble Boys Are Running Out of Real Estate The drama is stark: Joel Dahmen and Harry Higgs, two of the most beloved personalities in professional golf, are staring down the possibility of losing their PGA TOUR cards. Dahmen sits at No. 108 in the FedExCup standings. Higgs has fallen to No. 125. The trajectory makes this particularly painful. Dahmen was 93rd when the fall began, safely inside the bubble. Three missed cuts and a T69 later, he’s watching his season circle the drain. Higgs has dropped from 112th to 125th despite making two of three cuts. In the new reality where only 100 players keep full status (down from 125), making cuts isn’t enough anymore. You need results, and you need them now. Professional golf is cruel in this way: likability doesn’t earn you exemptions. Dahmen’s everyman appeal and Higgs’s infectious personality have made them fan favorites, but the scorecard doesn’t care about your Twitter following. Three events left. Both need something special in Mexico, or they’ll be planning their 2026 schedules around Korn Ferry Tour events and Monday qualifiers. Can Garrick Higgo Keep His Heater Going? While others scramble, South Africa’s Garrick Higgo is on fire. The left-hander has posted three consecutive top-10 finishes: T7 at the Procore Championship, solo second at Sanderson Farms, and T4 at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan. What makes Higgo particularly dangerous this week? He’s already proven he can dominate on Paspalum grass, winning the Corales Puntacana Championship earlier this year. El Cardonal features the same surface, and Higgo has shown he knows how to score on it. His best finish in three previous trips to Los Cabos is T7, but given his current form, that feels like ancient history. The timing couldn’t be better for Higgo to break through. He’s striking it pure. His confidence is sky-high. He’s playing a course that suits his game. While everyone’s talking about the favorites, don’t be surprised if the South African crashes the party and captures his second win of the season. The Rookie Class Is Drowning Remember when the FedExCup Fall was supposed to be rookie redemption time? A chance for first-year players to catch their breath, refine their games, and make a late-season push? That’s not happening. Outside of Steven Fisk (who won the Sanderson Farms Championship and secured his future), the Class of 2025 is struggling mightily. Only five of 35 rookies are currently projected to earn their cards: Fisk, Aldrich Potgieter, William Mouw, Karl Vilips, and Rasmus Højgaard. Four others are hanging on by their fingernails inside the top 125, which used to mean something but now just means you’re still in danger. The fall was supposed to be easier. Less travel fatigue, more familiarity with TOUR life, better preparation. Instead, it’s exposed just how difficult survival at this level really is. These aren’t bad players. They earned their way here. But the margin for error has evaporated. In previous years, finishing 110th meant conditional status. Now it means you’re looking for work. Michael Brennan: The Cinderella Story Continues Speaking of rookies, let’s talk about the one who’s doing it right. Michael Brennan won the Bank of Utah Championship in his first start as a professional, accepted PGA TOUR membership on the spot, and bypassed the Korn Ferry Tour entirely. The 23-year-old Wake Forest alum isn’t just a feel-good story. He’s a legitimate talent. He dominated PGA TOUR Americas this summer with three wins and 12 top-10s in 16 events. He’s a bomber off the tee, gaining nearly eight strokes on the field with his power at Black Desert Resort. El Cardonal’s wide fairways and massive greens should suit Brennan perfectly. While he’s still learning to navigate TOUR life, his game travels. The question isn’t whether he can compete this week. It’s whether he can build on his momentum and establish himself as more than just a one-week wonder. A strong showing in Mexico would go a long way toward answering that question. The Signature Event Chase Is On While the top-100 battle gets most of the attention, there’s another race happening that’s equally compelling: the Aon Next 10. Players ranked 51-60 in the FedExCup Fall standings earn spots in the first two Signature Events of 2026 (the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational). Max Greyserman sits comfortably at No. 51, but behind him, it’s a dogfight. Kevin Yu just cracked the top 60 at No. 59 after a T15 in Utah. Rico Hoey rocketed from 91st to 61st with his runner-up finish and is knocking on the door. These aren’t just tournament starts. They’re $20 million purses with limited fields and massive FedExCup points. Getting into those events can define your entire season. Billy Horschel, currently 101st, is chasing the same dream. The veteran returned from hip surgery and has shown flashes of his old form with three straight 66s in Utah. He’s got two paths to Signature Events: finish in the top 60 or crack the top 30 in the World Golf Ranking (he’s currently 40th). Either way, he needs to play well in Mexico. The Bottom Line El Cardonal is going to be gorgeous. The weather will be perfect. The course will yield birdies. But beneath the postcard setting, careers are on the line. Some players will secure their futures this week. Others will watch their dreams slip away. That’s what makes the FedExCup Fall so compelling and so cruel. Welcome to Cabo. The stakes have never been higher.
