Top 100 watch: Mackenzie Hughes climbs to 101st, one spot short of a 2027 card, with three fall events left

Mackenzie Hughes tied for fourth at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open on Sunday and climbed 17 places in the FedExCup Fall standings, from 118th to 101st. That leaves him one spot outside the top 100, the line that decides who keeps a full PGA Tour card for 2027, with three fall events left.

Hughes shot 65-67-67-66 to finish at 19 under, six behind Andrew Novak, and earned 122.5 points and $270,000. His T4 was his best PGA Tour finish since last May, per Adam Stanley. He now sits about 29 points behind Jason Day, who holds the 100th spot in the Tour's projected standings after Sunday.

The card line, Nos. 96 to 105

Projected ranks after the Mexico Open, with each player's move.

1. No. 96 Max Greyserman (up 7). A T11 in Mexico put him back inside after he slipped out of the top 100 in Bermuda, where a sore back ended his week early.
2. No. 97 Billy Horschel (down 3). He withdrew from the Mexico Open with dizziness. Golf Channel notes the exemption from his eight Tour wins runs out with this season.
3. No. 98 Kevin Yu (down 3).
4. No. 99 Chandler Phillips (up 1). A T23 added 34.8 points.
5. No. 100 Jason Day (down 4). He added no points in Mexico and holds the last full card at 495.2 points.
6. No. 101 Mackenzie Hughes (up 17). 466.1 points.
7. No. 102 Taylor Pendrith (down 4). Missed the cut.
8. No. 103 Brandt Snedeker (down 4). Did not play.
9. No. 104 A.J. Ewart (down 3). The defending Q-School medalist tied for 58th.
10. No. 105 Lee Hodges (down 3).

Who moved the most

Kristoffer Ventura made the biggest jump among players near the line. His T2 at 20 under came with a closing 63 and 245 points, and it lifted him from 108th to 76th. Norway's ABC Nyheter put it simply: he is now inside the list that matters. Steven Fisk, the other runner-up, rose from 70th to 54th. Novak went from 89th to 53rd with the 500 points for his win, so both are now inside the Aon Next 10 spots (Nos. 51 to 60) that come with starts at Pebble Beach and the Genesis Invitational.

Further down, Matthieu Pavon (140th to 132nd), Erik van Rooyen (153rd to 139th) and defending champion Brian Campbell (176th to 149th) all picked up ground but still have work to do to reach the top 125, which brings conditional status.

What the numbers mean

Golf Channel lays out the tiers. Nos. 61 to 100 get full status, Nos. 101 to 125 get conditional PGA Tour status and full Korn Ferry Tour status, and Nos. 126 to 150 are fully exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour only. This is the second fall with 100 cards instead of the old 125.

Exemptions change the picture for some names. Past winners and other exempt players keep their cards wherever they finish, which is why Golf Channel says Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau can sit outside the top 100 without much worry. After Sunday they are projected 108th and 109th. Lucas Glover, whose exemptions from his 2023 wins expired this year, is 111th.

What's left

• World Wide Technology Championship, Nov. 5-8, El Cardonal at Diamante, Los Cabos, Mexico. Ben Griffin defends.
• Austin Championship, Nov. 12-15, Omni Barton Creek (Fazio Canyons), Austin, Texas.
• The RSM Classic, Nov. 19-22, Sea Island, Georgia. The standings are final after that week.

Each event offers 500 points to the winner. Players who finish outside the top 100 can still try to earn a card at PGA Tour Q-School, which ESPN lists for Dec. 10-13 at TPC Sawgrass and Sawgrass Country Club. Hughes' next chance to get inside the line starts Thursday in Los Cabos, on Golf Channel.