The tournament within the tournament was the race to a promotion.
The tournament within the tournament at the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship was the race to a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season.
There are 30 being doled out in all this season and before they teed it up at the season finale, 17 cards were already claimed. Another five, while not officially locked up, were a virtual certainty. That left eight cards truly up for grabs.
Thornberry started the week in 51st, well outside the top 30, but he secured his playing privileges for 2025 with an outright win at The French Lick Golf Resort’s Pete Dye Course. His final-round 66 got him to 9 under and vaulted him to 16th in the points. This is the first Tour card for the 2017 Haskins Award winner, who won the award after his sophomore season at Ole Miss when he won the NCAA individual championship.
“It’s crazy. This is my I guess fifth year since I turned pro and I’ve played a lot of good golf. I had such a good college career and I was excited to get out in the pro ranks,” he said of his journey to the PGA Tour. “Like really, it’s not that I struggled with my golf game, it’s like it never quite clicked for some reason at the pro level. It’s just amazing to finally get a win out here. To get a win and to be Tour Bound in the same day is just crazy. I’m sure it hasn’t all hit me yet, but it’s just a crazy day.”
He added that he got a little inspiration from his dad before the final round.
“My dad texted me this morning and kind of put it in my head, ‘You know, one good round, you could be on the Tour,'” he said. “So it’s crazy to actually go out there and have that one-in-a-hundred round that you needed at the exact right time. It’s just amazing.”
He was the only player in the 74-man field to climb inside the top 30. And that meant someone else had to fall out. Bubble Boy Sam Bennett was that golfer. He started the week 30th in points but a final-round 78, a day that included two double-bogeys, dropped him to 31st, the first man out.
Bauchou started the week 35th but he’s now well inside the safe zone for a coveted tour card.
There’s just 36 holes left for some to lock up their 2025 PGA Tour cards.
Through two rounds of the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship, 29 of the 30 golfers on the good side of the line have held on.
“Bubble Boy” Sam Bennett, who started the week in the 30th and final spot, is the one golfer who has fallen out, for now.
Bennett opened with a 72 but his second-round 3-over 75 has put him in a precarious position.
Meanwhile, Zach Bauchou is taking full advantage of this week’s 72-hole, no-cut event at French Lick Golf Resort’s Pete Dye Course in Indiana. Bauchou has posted scores of 68 and 66 and is at 10 under, the only golfer at double-digits under par, and he leads the field by four shots.
Bauchou started the week in the 35th spot, on the outside looking in, but he’s now in the 13th spot, well inside the safe zone for that coveted tour card.
When the week started, 17 of the 30 cards were claimed and the next five were virtually assured of staying in the top 30. That left eight spots up for grabs.
After 15 seasons of 25 players getting a promotion, this year it’s 30 getting their cards. When the Korn Ferry Tour started in 1990, only the top five players earned their cards.
The French Lick Golf Resort’s Pete Dye Course is a par-72 measuring 7,667 yards. It’s hosted the KFT finale for the first time.
Thirty golfers will earn status in the big leagues next year.
The Korn Ferry Tour season-long race has 30 PGA Tour cards for next season waiting at the finish line.
Of the 30, 17 have already been earned, leaving 13 up for grabs at the final tournament of the year, the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
The season-finale will be played at French Lick Golf Resort’s Pete Dye Course in Indiana for the first time, where 75 players will be teeing it up. Matt McCarty, who earned his 2025 PGA Tour card via the three-victory promotion in 2024, is the lone player in the top 30 not there. Instead, he’ll be in the field at the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship.
All 75 players who qualified this week have earned 2025 Korn Ferry Tour status no matter what happens this week. It’s the quest for a promotion that will have added inspiration.
Who’s has clinched a 2025 PGA Tour card?
There are 17 players already making their plans for next season on the PGA Tour, led by McCarty, who will be playing in just his second PGA Tour event this week in Jackson, Mississippi. The 2022 U.S. Open was his only other start.
Who are the top 10 in the KFT points?
1. Matt McCarty
2. Max McGreevy
3. Tim Widing
4. Steven Fisk
5. Frankie Capan III
6. Taylor Dickson
7. Harry Higgs
8. William Mouw
9. Brian Campbell
10. Thomas Rosenmueller
Who’s inside the top 30 still without a 2025 PGA Tour card?
These players are currently inside the top 30 and would earn their cards by staying in the top 30 after Sunday’s final round.
The first five here have a strong enough points lead that, while none of them are guaranteed anything just yet, probably have done enough to earn their 2025 PGA Tour cards.
18. Karl Vilips
19. John Pak
20. Jackson Suber
21. Mason Andersen
22. Jeremy Paul
This next group of golfers are currently inside the top 30 but they have others close enough to overtake them. Consider these guys “on the bubble.”
The French Lick Golf Resort’s Pete Dye Course will be a par-72 this week measuring 7,667 yards. The finishing stretch includes the 220-yard par-3 16th, 465-yard par-4 17th, and 626-yard par-5 18th.
The venue hosted the 2015 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and the 2019 Senior LPGA Championship.
The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana, site of the 2019 Senior LPGA Championship (above) and 2015 KitchenAide Senior PGA Championship. (Beth Ann Nichols/Golfweek)
Which players can earn PGA Tour status for the rest of 2024?
Max McGreevy, Tim Widing, Taylor Dickson and Harry Higgs all have two wins in 2024 on the Korn Ferry Tour. A third would mean a Three-Victory Promotion, which is immediate access to the PGA Tour’s 2024 FedExCup Fall as well as fully exempt status on the PGA Tour in 2025.
There is no cut this week for the 75 players in the field, so everyone will have four rounds to accrue points for next season.
After 15 seasons of 25 players getting a promotion, this year it’s 30 getting their cards. When the Korn Ferry Tour started in 1990, only the top five players earned their cards.
Vanderbilt’s home course will serve as first playoff location.
There are 30 golfers who will earn PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season via the Korn Ferry Tour but 13 of them have already been locked up. That puts 17 up for grabs with the three-event playoff series left on the calendar.
The first of those is this week’s Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation at the Vanderbilt Legends Club North Course in Franklin, Tennessee.
There are 144 players in the field and just like the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, the field will get whittled down for the second event, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, which will have 120. From there, just the top 75 will head to the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
Of the 13 players who earned their card from next year after 23 events are eight soon-to-be rookies:
Quade Cummins
Cristobal Del Solar
Taylor Dickson
Steven Fisk
Matt McCarty
William Mouw
Kevin Velo
Tim Widing
The other five have regained their PGA Tour status:
Brian Campbell
Ryan Gerard
Harry Higgs
Max McGreevy
Kevin Roy
Campbell will be returning to the PGA Tour for the first time since 2017.
Whoever finishes atop the season-points race earns a spot in the 2025 U.S. Open as well as the 2025 Players Championship.
Golf Channel will have coverage of all three KFT playoff tournaments.
Golf courses used for the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs
Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation: Vanderbilt Legends Club North Course, designed by Bob Kupp and Tom Kite. It’s the home course for Vanderbilt men’s and women’s golf teams.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship: Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course.
Korn Ferry Tour Championship: French Lick Golf Resort’s Pete Dye Course, which will measure 7,667 yards and play as a par 72.
Tuten will get a chance to try to make up for the gaffe, but he’ll have to wait two months.
The season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship determines which 30 golfers will gain promotion to the PGA Tour for 2024. With 16 of those spots already locked up, that left everyone battling for the other 14.
Shad Tuten was in a good position to grab one of those spots, as he was sitting 29th on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List heading into the 72-hole, no-cut finale. He then posted scores of 69-73-69 over the first three days to sit just outside the top 10.
But on Sunday, Tuten signed for a 76, which included a two-shot penalty at the soggy Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana.
According to the Korn Ferry Tour: “Shad Tuten was assessed a two-stroke penalty on hole No. 15 under preferred lies local rule E-3, turning a 2-over 74 into a 4-over 76. Tuten also fell from projected No. 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List to No. 32.”
Chief referee Jim Duncan provided context on the ruling.
Shad Tuten was assessed a two-stroke penalty on hole No. 15 under preferred lies local rule E-3, turning a 2-over 74 into a 4-over 76. Tuten also fell from projected No. 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List to No. 32.
When it was all said and done, Tuten slid back from the No. 29 to No. 32 on the outside looking in at the 2024 PGA Tour season.
Tuten will get a chance to try to make up for the gaffe, but he’ll have to wait two months. Players who finished Nos. 31-60 on the KFT points list have earned exemptions to the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School, where the top five finishers and ties will earn their 2024 PGA Tour cards. The final stage is Dec. 14-17 at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course as well as Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Barjon won the no-cut, 72-hole Korn Ferry Tour Championship and now he’s getting a promotion.
Paul Barjon won the no-cut, 72-hole Korn Ferry Tour Championship on Sunday and now he’s getting a promotion.
In fact, he’s one of 30 golfers who locked up a 2024 PGA Tour card after the conclusion of the final KFT event of 2023.
Barjon shot 72-70-64-68 at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana, to finish at 14 under and win by three shots over Fabian Gomez. Joe Highsmith and Mac Meissner tied for third at 10 under.
The KFT Championship was the 26th and final event of the 2023 season. Heading into the finale, 16 cards had already been locked up but there was intense battle for the remaining 14.
Barjon was among those chasing one of those 14 spots, as he started the week at No. 45 but his victory vaulted him all the way to No. 8.
Players who finished Nos. 31-60 on the KFT points list have earned exemptions to Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School, where the top five finishers and ties will earn their 2024 PGA Tour card.
Here’s some of the key things to know about this week’s 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
Changes are a comin’ to the PGA Tour but one thing that’s not new is that a new crop of golfers will earn promotion to the big stage following the conclusion of this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
There are 16 who have already clinched their cards for next season with another 14 to be handed out come Sunday night at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana.
But between now and then is 72 holes of intensity, future status of playing privileges hanging in the balance.
The 2024 PGA Tour schedule features a return of the calendar-based schedule. The season starts in Maui at The Sentry in January.
Here’s some of the key things to know about this week’s 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
Suh shot a 64 on Saturday to take the outright lead at 17 under, setting the 54-hole mark at Victoria National in Newburgh, Indiana.
He didn’t go as deep Sunday but didn’t need to, as his final-round 68 gave him the win in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship at 21 under—his first Korn Ferry Tour win—and the No. 1 ranking in the season-long points race.
And to the winner goes the spoils.
The 25-year-old former USC golfer gained full status for the 2022-23 PGA Tour season for winning the points. But wait, that’s not all. Suh is also exempt in the 2023 Players Championship and the 2023 U.S. Open, the first year that perk was on the line at the KFT finals.
The Finals 25 was determined after Sunday’s round, finalizing 25 PGA Tour cards for next season. Here’s a look at who’s heading to the Tour:
It’s a shot Matthews didn’t even consider in a practice round.
Brandon Matthews needed an eagle on his final hole of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana.
He didn’t have any room for error. After a double bogey on his 17th hole, Matthews needed to go 2 under on the final hole to make the cut on the number. What awaited him was the par-4 18th, measuring at 432 yards. At least that’s what’s listed on the scorecard.
Matthews didn’t view the hole traditionally, though. Normally a big dogleg right, players have to hit a precise tee shot to avoid a huge pond right of the fairway and in front of the green from the tee box.
Matthews, who’s known as one of the longest players in golf, instead aimed right at the green. The carry? Nearly 370 yards.
No problem. It’s a shot you’ll have to see to believe.
His shot landed 15 feet from the pin. It was a shot he hadn’t even attempted in a practice round.
“Not directly at it … that’s a little crazy,” Matthews said. “Our line was … there are some red umbrellas on the clubhouse that we saw. That was kind of our line, if we had any bit of help at all.
“If I wasn’t in that position, I wouldn’t be hitting driver at the green … I love doing stuff like that. It’s fun.”
Matthews wasn’t able to convert the eagle putt, settling for birdie, but the result didn’t matter much for his future. He already secured his PGA Tour card for next season and will debut in two weeks at the Fortinet Championship.
There will be 17 PGA Tour cards up for grabs at the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Indiana.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. − Professional golf returns to the Tri-State this week with the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance.
This will be the 11th year Victoria National Golf Club has hosted a professional golf event. Following a change in 2019, it is also the final stop on the KFT with PGA Tour cards on the line. As part of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, it will also be the final year of the current format with a change coming in 2023.
It is always an exciting four days of golf played by some of the best in the country. Here is what you need to know for this year’s event.
What is at stake?
The Korn Ferry Tour Championship is the third and final event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, with a second set of 25 PGA Tour cards being awarded at the conclusion of the tournament.
Eight players have already crossed the threshold the Korn Ferry Tour uses as its fail-safe number for players to finish inside The Finals 25, leaving 17 final available PGA Tour cards this week. The player who finishes No. 1 in the season-long points race earns fully exempt status for the 2022-23 PGA Tour season, as well as a berth for the 2023 Players Championship and an exemption into the 2023 U.S. Open.
The schedule
The tournament will take place Thursday through Sunday with first-round tee times scheduled from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET. According to weather.com, temperatures will be in the high 80s or low 90s with clear to partly cloudy skies all week.
Victoria National Golf Course in Newburgh, Indiana.
Golf Channel will have TV live coverage of every round from 4-7 p.m. ET. It will also be streamed on Peacock. Tickets are available through tourchampulf.com/tickets. All-week general admission tickets are $40. Daily admission is $20.
The field
There are numerous players to keep an eye on with PGA Tour cards at stake.
Defending champion Joseph Bramlett returns with a chance to become the first golfer in the 32 years of the circuit to successfully defend at the Tour Championship. He won at Victoria National last year with a final-round 65 to win by four shots at 20 under. Bramlett earned his PGA Tour card last week via the Finals point list.
He isn’t the only past champion of the event with Jonathan Byrd (2017) also scheduled to compete. Other former notable PGA Tour players include Aaron Baddeley, Bill Haas, Sean O’Hair, Bo Van Pelt and Camilo Villegas. The KFT Finals is a mix of players who finished 26-75th on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season points list, 126-200th on the FedEx Cup Playoffs points list, as well as non-members and medical extensions.
While 25 Korn Ferry Tour players already earned their PGA Tour cards through the regular season, a separate points list determines The Finals 25. The player who earns the most points during the three Finals events (excluding those from the regular season) will earn status on the PGA Tour for the 2022-23 season.
Top 10 going into Tour Championship
Will Gordon
David Lingmerth
Philip Knowles
Michael Gligic
Joseph Bramlett
Austin Cook
Dean Burmester
Henrik Norlander
Justin Lower
Thomas Detry
Scott Harrington
Are there any players with local ties this year?
One golfer in the field who will be of major interest is Jeff Overton, a North High School graduate. He has 32 top-10s in nearly 300 career starts on the PGA Tour, including four runner-up finishes. He also earned a spot on the 2010 Ryder Cup team. However, Overton had not played professional golf in over five years due to an epidural abscess after an injection for a herniated disc in his back in 2017, followed by a lengthy recovery.
He made his professional return at the 3M Open in Minneapolis in July but missed the cut. Overton has made one cut in three Korn Ferry Tour events this month.
Victoria National Golf Course in Newburgh, Indiana.
Victoria National was ranked among the top three for six consecutive seasons from 2013-18, and it was the No. 1-ranked toughest course in 2015, 2016, and 2018. A par 72, scores have been lower in recent years after the course previously hosted a Tour event in late April or early July.
The course still remains brutal for those not playing well. The final stretch on the back nine is considered among the toughest closing holes on Tour. Victoria National ranks 47th on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses 2022 list.
