The newly renovated La Paloma course made its debut on the Korn Ferry Tour this week. And for the 156 players competing for $1,000,000 at the OccuNet Classic, the bigger prize is the 500 points that could decide their PGA Tour future.

Winner payout breakdown

The winner of the 2026 OccuNet Classic will earn $180,000 from the tournament’s $1,000,000 purse.

How the 2026 OccuNet Classic field is playing out

Tascosa’s La Paloma is a new Korn Ferry stop, so there is no multi-year scoring history to lean on. The links-style course features dramatic elevation changes, natural rock outcroppings, native rough, and several lakes and stretches over 7,000 yards.

Well, that kind of setup penalizes anyone. There are 11 former PGA Tour winners in the field, and with the course recently renovated, players are basically solving it anew, which could keep the leaderboard tight through the weekend.

And then, we have the points race. Beyond the hefty prize money, the winner will earn 500 Korn Ferry Tour points and around 15 OWGR points. The top 20 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List at the end of the year will secure their PGA TOUR cards for the next year. Meanwhile, the No. 1 player will gain exemptions into the following year’s PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open.

A field loaded with winners, and U.S. Open plans on deck

The list contains eleven past PGA Tour winners—led by Ryan Palmer, who has four titles—who have a combined total of 23 wins. 55 more golfers have won on the Korn Ferry Tour before, with 79 wins between them. Robby Shelton has the most wins (4) to his name.

Then there are the new golfers. Nine of the top 10 from the 2026 PGA Tour University class have made Korn Ferry debuts this week, including Texans Christiaan Maas and Luke Potter. Four players—Cole Hammer, Robbie Higgins, James Nicholas, and Jake Peacock—also qualified for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills next week, giving them extra reason to play freely here first.

So far, the new guys are delivering. Wyatt Provence, ranked No. 5 on that PGA Tour University list, fired a 63 in round three to climb 56 spots into a share of fourth at -7. Christiaan Maas sits T59 at even par after carding a 70 in round three, while Jase Summy and Jay Card III are mid-pack at around -4 and -2. Up top, Chan Kim leads at -9 after rounds of 66-65, with Travis Trace and Cole Sherwood tied a shot back at -8.

Meanwhile, Ryan Palmer, who was looking good on paper, has missed the cut.

Now it will be interesting to see who takes the paycheck home.