Ryder Cup Stars Set To Headline Opening Event of New PGA Tour Fall Series

Max Homa and Justin Thomas will be two players headlining the field when the PGA Tour returns next week for the Fortinet Championship, with the start of the Fall Series. 

Homa is the defending champion after he won the tournament in 2022 for the second successive year, following a dramatic final-hole victory. The American chipped in for a birdie at the last before his playing partner, Danny Willett, three-putted from four feet to lose by one stroke. 

Justin Thomas, who missed out on the FedEx Cup playoffs last month, has yet to compete in the Fortinet Championship after skipping the tournament for its first two editions.

With the Tour now returning to a calendar season starting in January 2024, the Fall Events have been restructured and rebranded as the FedEx Cup Fall. The Fortinet Championship represents the first of seven fall tournaments which give players beneath the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings the chance to earn points, secure their Tour card for the 2024 season and play their way into signature events. 

Speaking when the Fall Series was announced back in April, PGA Tour President Tyler Dennis said: "The reimagining of our schedule – from the Regular Season with Designated and Full-Field events to the FedEx Cup Playoffs and culminating with the FedEx Cup Fall – creates distinct but connected ‘chapters,’ and within this new framework, the FedEx Cup Fall is now more than ever an integral part of that compelling story. 

"There will be so much at stake – and more immediate payoffs – as opportunities are unlocked in the FedEx Cup Fall for the season to come."

After a two-week break for the Ryder Cup, the Fall Series will return with the Sanderson Farms Championship in early October. Two more October tournaments follow – the Shriners Children’s Open and Zozo Championship, before another week-long break before the World Wide Technology Championship, which begins on 2nd November at its new venue, the Tiger Woods course El Cardonal in Mexico. 

The following week sees the Butterfield Bermuda Championship before the Fall Schedule concludes with the RSM Classic beginning on 16 November. 

For Homa, another win at the Fortinet would make him the first player since Steve Stricker to win an event three years in a row. Stricker won the John Deere Classic consecutively in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

For Thomas, meanwhile, the tournament offers the World No. 25 his last chance to regain some form ahead of the Ryder Cup. The 30-year-old endured his worst season on the PGA Tour since turning professional - finishing 71st in the FedEx Cup standings - but still was selected as one of Zach Johnson's captain's picks for the Ryder Cup in Marco Simone later in September.