For many hopefuls at PGA Tour Q-School, there is one big incentive – the chance to claim a card on the big US-based circuit for the 2026 season.
In total, 176 players started the final stage, which is taking place at Sawgrass Country Club and Dye’s Valley in Florida. However, cards are only available to the top five on the leaderboard following the fourth and final round. So, what happens in the event of a tie?
For the previous two editions, it was quite straightforward, with the cards going to all of the top five and ties.
A year ago, Lanto Griffin, Hayden Buckley and Takumi Kanaya took the top three spots, but there was a three-way tie for fourth, handing cards to Alejandro Tosti, Will Chandler and Matthew Riedel too.
It’s not quite as generous this year, though. In 2025, if there’s a tie for the fifth and final qualifier, the players will face the nerve-shredding prospect of a hole-by-hole playoff to decide the final card.
Any playoff will take place at Dye's Valley’s par-4 18th. Players will repeat the hole until the top five are confirmed, although if there’s a third playoff hole, a new pin location will be cut.
Ahead of the final round of 2025 PGA Tour Q-School, a playoff remained a very real possibility with a tight leaderboard featuring 20 players within three shots of the top five.
Among the notable players within touching distance of a card were Tosti, who finds himself back at Q-School after finishing 137th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, Ben Kohles, who finished 142nd in the standings, and Frankie Capan III, who came 127th.
It’s not just the battle for the five PGA Tour cards that is at stake during the final round in Florida.
Beneath the top five, the next 40 players and ties will secure Korn Ferry Tour status for the 2026 season. Even then, there is an incentive to finish as high as possible within that group.
They will be subject to a reshuffle during the Korn Ferry Tour season, which reorders player eligibility based on performance. For the first 25 and ties in the category, it comes after the 14th event of the 2026 season, while the rest will face a reshuffle after just the 10th event.
All remaining finishers earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2026, with a reshuffle after the sixth event. They also secure PGA Tour Americas membership, again with a reshuffle after the sixth event.
