In PGA Tour’s final tournament of 2025 season, SC players looking for a ‘Hail Mary’
By grasping at straws and stretching the definition, some good news regarding the South Carolina contingent can be found during the PGA Tour’s fall season.
Adam Schenk provided the ray of sunshine by winning the Butterfield Bermuda Challenge last weekend.
Schenk? Connected to the Palmetto State? Who?
Well, during his collegiate days at Purdue, he played for coach Rob Bradley, who now heads the men’s golf program at the University of South Carolina. Schenk still turns to Bradley for instruction, and Bradley will caddie for Schenk in Tour events on occasion.
Yes, the connection is thin. But to borrow Walter Cronkite’s signature signoff on the CBS Evening News, “that’s the way it is” for PGA Tour players with connections to South Carolina in the season that ends Sunday.
Barring a lofty finish by Carson Young (Pendleton/Clemson) or one of the other state guys winning in the RSM Classic in Georgia, only four Palmetto State players will have full status on the 2026 PGA Tour.
Andrew Novak (Mount Pleasant), Jacob Bridgeman (Inman/Clemson) and Lucas Glover (Greenville/Clemson) finished inside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings and have qualified for the lucrative ‘”signature events.” Trace Crowe (Greenville) earned a place with his finish in the Korn Ferry Tour standings.
Indeed, Young, at 128 in the standings, is the only state player who can join them with full status based on his performance in the RSM without winning. PGA Tour statisticians project Young would need to be in a three-way tie for third or better to climb inside the top 100.
With the influx of younger players, earning and maintaining status on the PGA Tour has become increasingly difficult. And, to compound the challenge, rules revisions provide only the top 100 — rather than the top 125 — full playing privileges for the following season. Most of the state players will have “former champion” status, a low priority that provides only a few starts.
The state of S.C. players is pretty much unchanged since June and the U.S. Open. Novak, Glover and Bridgeman had already “made” their years and the others faced uphill challenges.
Novak teamed with Ben Griffin to win the Zurich Classic and lost in a playoff for the RBC Heritage title in his best season. Glover, at 45, rolled along with ties for third in both the AT&T at Pebble Beach and The Players to highlight his five top-five finishes. Bridgeman, in his second year on the Tour, placed in the top five in four tournaments.
Only Young made a substantial advance over the last half of the year, including the fall.
The list of state players who will not be in the RSM field include Glover, Crowe, Bill Haas (Greenville), Kyle Stanley (Clemson), William McGirt (Bluffton/Wofford and Richy Werenski (Aiken). Wesley Bryan (Columbia/USC) has been suspended by the Tour.
Novak and Bridgeman are in the RSM field, but they cannot improve their status without winning. Joining Young in seeking golf’s version of a “Hail Mary” are Kevin Kisner (Aiken), Ben Martin (Greenville), Matt NeSmith (Aiken/USC), Doc Redman (Clemson) and Jonathan Byrd (Columbia/Clemson).
Impossible?
Perhaps ... but remember Schenk. After a forgettable year that included eight missed cuts in a nine-tournament stretch and only one top 25 finish in the fall, he won.
Chip shots. One familiar name missing from the 2026 PGA Tour hopefuls is veteran Tommy Gainey (Hartsville), who turned 50 in August and quickly made his presence felt on the PGA’s Champions Tour. In early tournaments, he broke through with one win among three top-10s and he finished 24th in the season-long standings while making only nine starts. Gainey earned his only PGA Tour win in the RSM Classic and is in the field this year. ... USC sophomore Eila Galitsky and Greenville resident Dawn Woodard earned All-Amateur honors from the Global Golf Post. The online publication annually salutes top amateurs in six divisions with Galitsky earning first-team honors among women amateurs and Woodard receiving first-team recognition among senior women amateurs. ... The South Carolina Junior Golf Association introduced its Tournament Roadmap and updates for 2026 that provides new opportunities, new goals and a clearer path to success. Divisions include the Hootie Series, Players Series and Major Championships and provide playing opportunities for players of all skill levels. Go online to www.scjga.org for details.
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM with the headline "In PGA Tour’s final tournament of 2025 season, SC players looking for a ‘Hail Mary’."