With a thrilling FedExCup season in the rearview mirror—culminating in Tommy Fleetwood’s crowning moment at the TOUR Championship—it would be easy to start looking ahead to 2026. But for many players, the focus is firmly on the present. The Procore Championship isn’t just another stop on the PGA TOUR — it marks the beginning of the FedExCup Fall and the start of crucial momentum-building opportunities.
“For most of us, it’s really important,” said Patton Kizzire, the 2024 Procore Champion, speaking Tuesday about the FedExCup Fall. “We’re jockeying for position and trying to move up the board to gain more opportunities for the next season.” And that positioning can be season-defining.
Take J.J. Spaun, for example. He entered last fall ranked No. 98 in the FedExCup standings, but a strong stretch catapulted him into the Aon Next 10. That surge earned him starts in Signature Events and majors — a run that ultimately landed him on the Ryder Cup team.
Maverick McNealy tells a similar story. After ending his 2024 campaign at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, McNealy clinched a spot in the Aon Next 10 by finishing 53rd in the FedExCup Fall. His breakthrough came with a first PGA TOUR win at The RSM Classic, which secured him starts in the opening two Signature Events of the season. He capitalized on that momentum with a runner-up finish at The Genesis Invitational.
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“That run kick-started my season and got me into the Signature Events and all four majors, where I competed regularly against the best players in the world,” McNealy shared on Instagram.
Speaking to PGATOUR.com on Wednesday, McNealy echoed that sentiment. “The fall is huge. Even for guys just outside the top 50, getting into those first two Signature Events sets the tone for the rest of the season. It did for me and a couple of other guys.”
Now ranked inside the top 25 of the FedExCup standings, McNealy is taking a lighter fall schedule—partly because he and his wife are expecting their first child later this year.
But as McNealy eases into the season, another Californian is hoping to generate his own chain reaction this fall: Max Homa.
The Burbank native endured a frustrating 2025 season marked by equipment changes and swing struggles, ultimately finishing 111th in the FedExCup standings and missing the playoffs for the first time in six years. After welcoming his second child in August, Homa took a brief break before diving back into his routine.
Now he’s back at Silverado Resort — a venue close to his heart. Homa made his PGA TOUR debut here as a 23-year-old in 2013 and returned to win the event in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022.
Even though he retains playing privileges for the upcoming season, Homa made it clear his goal this fall is to break back into the FedExCup top 100 — and he’s approaching it with patience.
“I’m trying to take it just one day at a time,” Homa said. “I won [the Procore] when it was still part of the wraparound season, so it was an immediate jump-off point. I don’t think people — myself included — realized how important the fall was back then. It just got you ahead early.”
Now, more than a decade after his first professional start at Silverado, Homa returns with the same opportunity: to build early momentum, regain form, and set the foundation for a successful 2026.
