In his first 28 starts in this, his rookie season on the PGA Tour, Gator All-American Ricky Castillo made 15 of 28 cuts, and earned $961,455. His best two outings were a tie for fifth in the CJCup Byron Nelson, good for a $305,971 payday, and a tie for 12th in the Valspar Championship in Tampa, worth $178,350.

    The 24-year-old rose to new heights in the RSM Classic concluded at Sea Island yesterday, shooting rounds of 7 under, 5 under, 1 under and 8 under in the finale, for a 21-under-par 282. He finished third, just two strokes behind first-time winner Sami Valinaki. Castillo collected a healthy $483,000 for the effort, and was in contention in the finale after making seven birdies on the front nine. But he was unable to keep it going on the final nine.

    He wound up with earnings of $1,444,454, and finished 138th on the money list and 116th on the FedEx Cup points list, which puts him in jeopardy for the new season. Only the top 100 FedExers get to keep their cards for 2026 and he needed a second on Sunday to make that happen. 

    Gator Camilo Villegas finished 155th on the FedEx list but with two victories in recent seasons he should be able to get in a number of events. Gator Alejandro Tosti finished 137th and has lost his privileges.

    Of the Seminoles, Daniel Berger tied for 51st at Sea Island with 11 under par and picked up $16,399, but rookie Luke Clanton missed the cut. Several veterans lost their cards, including Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson and Brandt Snedeker, but all three should have no trouble getting 2026 entries. Kuchar is 13th on the all-time money list, Johnson is a 12-time winner, including the Masters and the Open, and Snedeker is a 9-time winner and captain for the next President's Cup.   

 

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