Max Greyserman didn’t receive any exemptions in 2025. He finished second in two events this season. But he couldn’t do enough to grab his first PGA Tour win. Speaking about continuing his run on the Tour, he mentioned how challenging it is to keep up with the PGA Tour for players like him, unlike it is for “super established” pros like Rickie Fowler & Jordan Spieth.

He joined James Nicholas for a round of golf on YouTube. During one of the segments, they discussed how not everyone can make it on their own on the PGA Tour. “If you’re one of the PGA Tour guys who is 100th or 150th in the world, it’s definitely going to matter,” Greyserman told Nicholas.

“[You get]… a few extra sponsorships by just knowing people. You wouldn’t get that unless you were super top on the list in the rankings.”

Players ranked over 100th in the world can’t get direct entry to PGA Tour events. The only way they can gain entry to events is through exemptions. Socializing with sponsors can certainly help them get a few sponsorships, even if they can’t get a PGA Tour card. However, if they continue to perform well, things could turn around and that should secure them a membership.

But just getting an exemption or sponsorship is not where the story ends. Greyserman also talked about the hardships of those who can’t sustain for too long without a win.

“I often tell people that, after payroll, after taxes, you’re probably 50%-55% you can make home,” he said. He also confirmed that you get “double-taxed” based on where you reside.

What he means to say is that players like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, who earn millions every year, give back more than half their money in salaries and taxes. So, unless you win so much that the deductions don’t matter, it’s impossible to survive on the PGA Tour.

In fact, Greyserman also explained the same with an example, “Pro golf is definitely a grind. When you’re super established like Rickie Fowler or Jordan Spieth, where your image and marketing give you crazy sponsorship dollars, and you fly private. But most guys fly commercial.”

Players like Fowler and Spieth have gained immense popularity over the years. That has allowed them to attract many sponsors with huge deals. The PGA Tour stars are also fan favorites in most events. Hence, they also receive exemptions quite easily. Last year, Fowler and Spieth got a combined 11 exemptions for 2025.

Despite that, Fowler and Spieth finished in the same position Greyserman ended in 2025. Let’s see how they performed.

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Did Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler better Max Greyserman this season?

All three individuals have experienced a winless season. So there is nothing to judge them on that aspect. But Max Greyserman still managed to get a couple of runner-up finishes in 2025. He finished second in the Rocket Classic and the Baycurrent Classic. That helped him get a 58th-place finish on the FedEx Cup standings.

Fowler barely managed to pick up some pace towards the end of the season. After a 7th-place finish in the Memorial Tournament, he secured another couple of top-10s in the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship. But he struggled to even finish inside the top-25 otherwise. However, Fowler still managed to finish 32nd on the FedEx Cup rankings.

Spieth came close to winning a couple of times, once at the WM Phoenix Open and another time in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He managed to finish 52nd on the FedEx Cup leaderboard at the end of the season.

Considering the gap in experience between them, Max Greyserman certainly managed to match the level of performance Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth delivered this season.