Two-time PGA Tour winner Peter Malnati has missed the cut 12 times in 23 starts this year, failing to make it to the weekend in more than half of his appearances. However, things are looking considerably brighter for the 39-year-old at the WWT Championship at El Cardonal Golf Course, where a share of the $6 million prize purse is up for grabs.
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Malnati sits in solo second after two rounds, playing the third just two shots behind leader Ben James and one shot ahead of Zac Blair. With the leaderboard tightly packed, even a single mistake could see him slide down the standings. Adding to the pressure is the need to secure his PGA Tour card for 2027, which might be getting a little overwhelming.
“The pressure I’m feeling is that I love my job,” Malnati said on Friday. “This is what I strived for. I was probably 14ish years old when I quit playing baseball to focus on my golf game. From the moment I made that decision, the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do was play golf on the PGA Tour. So I’m feeling a lot of pressure [because] I’m not ready to be done doing that yet.”
Peter Malnati is currently ranked 157th in the FedExCup Fall standings, well outside the top 100 that secure their PGA Tour cards for the following season. The two-time Tour winner has enjoyed a two-year exemption following his 2024 victory at the Valspar Championship, but that exemption expires at the end of this year.
That leaves him with little room for error as he looks to improve his standing in the remaining Fall events, with the season-ending RSM Classic in Georgia being his final opportunity. However, things have only become more challenging for the 39-year-old.
“It feels like the game, because there are so many really talented young players, and the PGA Tour is working so hard to ensure that the best players from wherever they are in the world end up playing here… like if you fall off the PGA Tour, it might not be easy to get back on the PGA Tour,” he added. “So I feel that. I feel a lot of pressure because I love my job and I want to keep doing it.”
Malnati’s concerns are not without reason. The competition on the PGA Tour has become increasingly fierce over the years, with a much deeper pool of international talent making it harder for players to retain their places. Modern players are also better equipped physically and technically, while data-driven course setups, tougher playing conditions, and increasingly demanding schedules leave little room for mistakes.
The result is a tour where even established players can struggle to keep up, and falling out of the top tier can make the road back particularly difficult. For someone like Malnati, who is almost 40, holding on to his playing privileges is becoming an increasingly challenging task. However, there is one thing Malnati can take comfort in: thanks to the PGA Tour, his family’s immediate financial future is secure.
“My family’s future is secure at least for a little while,” he explained. “The PGA Tour has given us an amazing life… The narrative that gets out there like this is how we feed our families, like, true, this is how we feed our families, but I’ve played well enough and been wise enough for a while, like the pressure is not that my family’s going to starve, and I’m really thankful for that.”
Yet he admits that at one point he told his girlfriend, Alicia, now his wife, he might not even be able to buy a house.
Peter Malnati has come far in his career since turning pro
Malnati turned professional at 22 back in 2009 and spent several years playing on mini-tours before joining the Korn Ferry Tour. Back then, he was dating Alicia and knew they wanted to spend their lives together. However, he feared that if he remained on the Korn Ferry Tour, Malnati wouldn’t even be able to buy a home.
“I distinctly remember when Alicia and I were dating, but knew we wanted to spend our lives together, I was saying to her, as a mini tour player, if I could just get to the Nationwide Tour, we’ll be set,” Malnati said. “If I can just get to the Nationwide Tour, we’ll have what we need. Like, we’ll be able to go on some trips together, like it’ll be amazing.
“Then I play a couple years on the PGA Tour. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, if I go back to the Korn Ferry Tour, we’re not going to be able to afford a house, we’re not going to have anything.’”
The 39-year-old has delivered on that promise after spending 11 years on the PGA Tour. However, whether he continues to remain on the PGA Tour depends heavily on the three events that remain. And if he continues to perform the way he did in the last couple of days, Peter Malnati might just celebrate his 40th on the PGA Tour.