The beginning of the FedExCup Fall is the start of a second chance. It’s an opportunity for the players who didn’t achieve everything they hoped in the first eight months of the year to right their wrongs and keep their careers churning. Then again, it’s quite the stressful second chance.

There’s a lot on the line for PGA TOUR players over the next three months, as a large majority of the field each week will be fighting for positioning in the top 100 of the FedExCup. Since 1983, the top 125 players from the previous season have maintained their status for the next year, but that exempt list was trimmed ahead of this year. Now, just the top 100 keep their status for 2026.

The beginning of the more cutthroat fall season begins this week at the Procore Championship, the first of seven events that make up the FedExCup Fall. Ahead of it, here are the players with the most to prove.

1. Nick Dunlap

Dunlap’s sophomore campaign can only be characterized as a disappointment, yet the fall provides an opportunity for positives to emerge from it.

Dunlap, still just 21 years old, took a step back after a marvelous and historic rookie year in which he won twice, the first as an amateur at The American Express. In 22 starts on TOUR in 2025, Dunlap amassed only one top 10 and struggled in the biggest events, missing the cut at THE PLAYERS Championship and the three majors he played. That included a first-round 90 at the Masters. Dunlap’s scores stabilized slightly in the second half of the year, but the results remained inconsistent. The highlight of his summer was a T11 at the John Deere Classic.

Finally, with extended time off to address some of his deficiencies, can Dunlap return to the TOUR with the form we know he’s capable of? Dunlap teased the possibility of a new coach on Instagram last month, posting a swing and tagging respected golf coach Scott Hamilton, who works with the likes of Tom Hoge and Maverick McNealy.

Dunlap’s most glaring issue is his off-the-tee performance. While he gained strokes on the field in every category, Dunlap ranked dead last on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. That’s prohibitive to success in modern pro golf. But that it’s the only glaring issue provides some respite. If Dunlap can get the driver straightened out, his form could return quickly.

While others will be fighting for their jobs all fall, Dunlap’s wins secured him status beyond this year. If he can harness that freedom, Dunlap could prove he’s still one of the most promising young stars in the sport. If he doesn’t, questions will only linger about his long-term prospects.

2. Adam Hadwin

It’s less about what Hadwin has to prove this fall than what he has to earn. Because for the first time since Hadwin earned his TOUR card back in 2014, the Canadian is at risk of losing it.

Hadwin began the year in a great position to keep his card with exemptions into all Signature Events. Yet he failed to do much in them. His T29 at The Sentry was his best of the eight starts. With only one top 10 in his other 15 events, Hadwin is currently 136th in the FedExCup and will need to make up considerable ground.

Without a winner’s exemption to fall back on like some of the slumping notables (Max Homa and Tom Kim highlight the group), Hadwin is in serious danger of dropping down to the Korn Ferry Tour for the first time in more than a decade.

Outside of this year, Hadwin has shown himself to be one of the most consistent pros in recent memory. This year has been the anomaly. Can the 37-year-old make a fall charge and survive on TOUR for another season?

3. The entire rookie class

No rookie cracked the top 50 in the FedExCup, which means the crop of 35 new faces that reached the TOUR this year will be busy through the end of the fall. Aldrich Potgieter was the only rookie to win a Full-Field Event, while Karl Vilips and William Mouw won Additional Events. Outside of them, there have been few highlights for the group.

That’s somewhat to be expected. Adjusting and succeeding on the PGA TOUR is no small feat, although historically, more players have made their mark in their rookie year compared to this class.

It isn’t for a lack of talent. Along with Potgieter and Vilips, players like Isaiah Salinda, Frankie Capan III and Tim Widing made this group one of the most exciting classes of rookies in recent memory. Combined with the midseason influx of talent from Luke Clanton, David Ford and Gordon Sargent, it’s a bit surprising nobody else has popped to this point.

Yet the fall should provide the perfect breeding ground for one or several rookies to find their footing and take off.

As of now, five of the 35 rookies are projected to keep their cards. That number should increase this fall.

4. Matt McCarty

McCarty was the story of last FedExCup Fall, jumping onto the PGA TOUR early by winning three times on Korn Ferry Tour (which earns you a TOUR card immediately) and then winning the Bank of Utah Championship in his second start as a TOUR member.

A year later, McCarty has a solid footing on TOUR but has not continued the torrid run that made him one of the most exciting new faces. At 82nd in the FedExCup, McCarty won’t be too worried about dropping out of the top 100, but there’s plenty of other incentives to chase. For starters, jumping into the top 60 would secure him spots in the Signature Events. McCarty is also right on the bubble for a Masters exemption. The top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking at year’s end secure a spot. McCarty is currently 56th.

Can McCarty prove he’s still the standout talent that accelerated through the TOUR’s pathways? A strong fall would go a long way in that effort.

5. Billy Horschel

Is he back to 100%? And can he return to the form he had earlier this year?

Horschel would like to prove the answer to those questions is yes. He will have that opportunity this fall. After missing nearly five months because of hip surgery, Horschel is returning to pro golf this week, playing the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour. The tournament has become an annual stop on Horschel's calendar.

Horschel was playing incredibly solid before stepping away with the injury, notching top 10s at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Valspar Championship. He was just outside the FedExCup top 50 when he had surgery. He begins the fall at No. 102. The 38-year-old doesn’t have to worry about his status, with his TOUR card locked up through the end of next year, but he hopes to use the fall as a springboard into a successful 2026.

Because of that, Horschel has plenty to prove to himself. First, and most importantly, is that he’s fully healthy and ready to go.