What to Watch For at the Fortinet Championship

After week and week without PGA Tour golf, the Fortinet Championship has finally arrived. Ryder Cuppers Max Homa and Justin Thomas headline the event, and after those two names the field strength drops precipitously.

To grasp the current state of the PGA Tour, it’s important to understand which players are showing up to this tournament and why they’re there. Homa is in Napa to fulfill defending-champion responsibilities, and JT, who missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs, probably wants to get in some competitive reps before he puts on the red, white, and blue in Rome.

But why is everyone else there? The answer to this question will tell you a lot about how today’s PGA Tour works.

Starting this fall, FedEx Cup points earned during the fall swing don’t carry over into the next season. In other words, the Tour’s return to a calendar-year structure means that the fall tournaments are no longer part of the next year’s season. However, the points that players earned during the 2022-23 season do carry over into the fall. Then, after the fall events, players inside the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings receive full status for the 2024 season, and the top 10 players on the points list who haven’t already qualified for signature events in 2024 gain entry into next year’s signature events at Pebble Beach and Riviera.

So a lot of players are at the Fortinet Championship to pursue status and signature-event eligibility for 2024. As for those who have already qualified for next year’s signature events, they still have one big reason to show up in the fall: improving their world ranking in order to qualify for the 2024 major championships.

In that vein, my “What to Watch For” this week is Brendon Todd. Ranked No. 47 in FedEx Cup standings at the end of the 2022-23 season, Todd has already qualified for all of the signature events in 2024, so presumably he’s playing the Fortinet to gain entrance into majors. Despite the weak fields, wins in the fall tournaments come with a two-year exemption on tour and entry into the Masters, among other perks.

I like the way the Fortinet’s venue, the North Course at Silverado, sets up for Todd. He thrives at courses that put wedge in your hands as often as Silverado does, so it’s no surprise that he has posted some solid finishes at this event. In his four appearances, Todd has made three cuts, including a T-9 last year. In the 2015-16 PGA Tour season, Todd played in 29 events, and his T-26 at this course was one of just four cuts he made that season and his only top 50 on the year. Brendon Todd has gone through some ups and downs on tour, but Silverado has always been in his comfort zone.

One of the biggest edges a player can have on the PGA Tour right now is a willingness to show up often. When I look at the field at the Fortinet Championship, I scratch my head wondering why certain players decided to skip. Respect to Brendon Todd and others in similar positions who decide to tee it up frequently during the fall swing.

With the new PGA Tour schedule, a lot of high-profile, career-defining victories will take place between January and July, and many players will have to earn those opportunities by performing well in the fall. So watch which players battle at the Fortinet and the other fall events, and which don’t. I guarantee that some will regret their lack of participation come January.