For the fan that never has enough, the PGA TOUR presents the FedExCup Fall. The first of seven tournaments contributing to the season-ending series begins with this week’s Procore Championship in Napa, California.

For many of the entrants in the field of 144 at Silverado Resort’s North Course, they haven’t done enough, at least as it concerns feeling safe to secure fully exempt status on the PGA TOUR in 2026. For them, the Procore presents the first in a series of second chances.

Of course, it’s not only about waiting to exhale. The perks will keep coming. For more on that, analysis of the host course for which there have been a couple of notable changes since Patton Kizzire prevailed a year ago, and other nuggets are detailed below.

There’s something for everyone in wine country this week.

The Procore is the only PGA TOUR stop across a five-week stretch that concludes with the Ryder Cup. Freshly minted FedExCup champion Tommy Fleetwood isn’t in the field at Silverado, but we’ll see him again stateside at the biennial competition at the end of the month. Meanwhile, 12 of the guys that Fleetwood beat at the TOUR Championship are slated to compete at the Procore, 10 of whom will be opposing him again at the Bethpage Black Course. While all of them have set their PGA TOUR membership for a while, the Procore is their best opportunity to convene and stay sharp competitively in advance of hosting the Europeans, who will be defending their title on the road.

The majority of the field at Silverado is there for a different version of work, the kind of which adheres closer to the meritocracy of the PGA TOUR. It will be a recurring theme throughout the FedExCup Fall, but it’s not without promises. Every winner will qualify for The Sentry, which is the first Signature Event that also launches the 2026 season, as well as THE PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Championship next year.

All golfers currently ranked 51st and lower in the FedExCup will continue to bank FedExCup points for an array of targets. Those who conclude the FedExCup Fall slotted 51st-60th will earn exemptions into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational, the second and third Signature Events, respectively, through the Aon Next 10.

The next objective arguably is the most compelling reality annually, and it’s undergone a significant change since last season.

Gone is the old boundary of 125th in the FedExCup that defines fully exempt status. This year, only the top 100 will lock it up. That means that only 30 PGA TOUR cards are to be determined in the next seven tournaments. (All of the 70 golfers who qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs already are fully exempt.) All other cutoffs outside the top 100 feed other statuses that will be needed to fill fields at times in 2026, but those will not become secondary goals in earnest until The RSM Classic, which puts a bow on 2025.

Of the remaining tournaments, only the Baycurrent Classic in Japan will be contested on a new course, so for a large portion of the caravan that will become familiar during the FedExCup Fall, course experience pays forward like a retest.

Silverado’s North Course is a stock par 72, albeit with respective nines of 35 and 37 since it was rerouted for the Procore in 2023. (There are three par 5s on the homeward half.) With larger tees at the par-4 10th and par-5 15th holes, both could be played longer, but only the latter is poised to do just that. At 572 yards, No. 15 is poised to stretch as much as an additional 15 yards. It constitutes the entirety of the bump to 7,138 yards for the round.

The fairways are notoriously narrow at Silverado. It was the stingiest in driving accuracy among non-majors in each of the last two seasons. That includes holding the top two slots in the expanded 2022-23 season during which two editions of the tournament were held. The challenge eases on approach to the 5,400-square-foot targets as golfers who total 12 greens in regulation in a round would be below the field average. It’s primarily why scoring has beaten par easily since Silverado debuted in 2014. Last year’s field turned in a historically average 71.238.

While returns in putting have varied over time, keep an eye focused on this week’s performances with the flat stick because the blended Poa annua-bentgrass surfaces could reach 12 ½ feet using the Stimpmeter. It’d be a foot longer than previous setups.

As always, the wind will be at the wheel to determine the speed of the greens. The invisible force usually isn’t a factor at Silverado, but it could freshen later during both days on the weekend and from the prevailing southwest. Rain is not expected, and daytime highs will stick close to 80 degrees throughout. So, that leaves only the predictable morning fog as a potential deterrent.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton previews and recaps every tournament. Refer to the timing of his contributions below. He’s also active as @RobBoltonGolf on X where you can connect with him.

• MONDAY: Power Rankings
• TUESDAY*: Sleepers; Top 100 Watch
• SUNDAY: Golfbet Recap; Qualifiers