Veterans Fight for Playoff Lives as PGA Tour Champions Postseason Looms
Five veterans need strong finishes Sunday to reach the postseason
CARY, N.C. — The final round of the SAS Championship at Prestonwood Country Club will decide more than a regular-season title. For a handful of veterans, Sunday determines whether their season continues or ends in the parking lot.
Kenny Perry, Heath Slocum, Harrison Frazar, Tom Pernice Jr. and Fred Couples sit outside the projected top 72 in Charles Schwab Cup points. Only those inside the cut line advance to the three-event postseason starting Oct. 23 at the Stifel Charity Classic in St. Louis.
The playoff structure is unforgiving. The field shrinks from 72 to 54 after St. Louis, then to 36 after the Simmons Bank Championship in Little Rock. The final 36 contest the $3 million Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix next month.
Each of the first two playoff events carries a $2.3 million purse. Missing the cut means forfeiting a shot at that money — and at the season-long bonus pool that rewards the top finishers in the Schwab Cup standings.
Perry, 64, has 10 career wins on this tour but has not cracked the winner’s circle since 2023. Slocum, 51, is winless since 2022. Frazar, 53, Pernice, 65, and Couples, 65, are all past champions searching for the form that once made them regular contenders.
Their challenge is amplified by the dominance at the top. Stewart Cink leads the standings with five victories this year, including two majors. Zach Johnson, in his rookie season, has six wins — the most of any player. Steven Alker, the defending playoff champion in Little Rock and a two-time Schwab Cup winner, sits third.
Padraig Harrington and Retief Goosen round out the top five. All five have already secured their playoff spots and are playing for seeding and the $3 million finale purse.
For the bubble group, the math is simple: a strong finish Sunday moves them inside the top 72. A stumble sends them home until 2026.
All three playoff tournaments are 54-hole events televised on Golf Channel and its mobile platforms.
SAS Championship – Final Rd
Tune in for the final round of the SAS Championship at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C.
