Considering that the PGA Tour is the ultimate goal for many men’s college golfers, the Tour’s new streamlined process of getting there comes as welcome news – at least for the game’s best. Monday marked the debut of PGA Tour University, a program designed to strengthen the path to the PGA Tour through developmental tours such as the Korn Ferry Tour, Mackenzie Tour (PGA Tour Canada), PGA Tour Latinoamérica and PGA Tour Series-China.
It comes with good news for college coaches, too. The program rewards players for honoring their commitments to their teams. Players must play on the NCAA Division I level and complete a minimum of four years in college to be eligible for the PGA Tour University Ranking List, a newly created college ranking. Based on a player’s respective finish on that list, he will be awarded exempt status to the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Latinoamérica, the Mackenzie Tour and PGA Tour Series-China.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for these players to begin their professional careers on a path to the PGA Tour. Just as importantly, we are able to continue building on the great momentum the Korn Ferry Tour and our International Tours have enjoyed in recent years by strengthening the field of competition with the addition of these collegiate stars,” Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin.
Changes to the PGA Tour’s qualifying structure in 2013 made it much more difficult for a player to come straight out of college and onto the PGA Tour. Matthew Wolff, who won a Tour event 41 days after claiming the NCAA individual title, is the exception. The vast majority of players are funneled up through the Korn Ferry Tour. That will still be the case under PGA Tour University.
Under this new structure, the top five finishers from the PGA Tour University Ranking List, which will be decided upon completion of the NCAA Championship, will receive Korn Ferry Tour membership and will be exempt into all open, full-field events beginning the week following the national championship through the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour regular season. The top five finishers will also be exempt into the Final Stage of that year’s Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament.
Finishers Nos. 6-15 will secure membership on their choice of one of the international tours for the current season and a spot in the Second Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament (if necessary).
The PGA Tour is partnering with the World Amateur Golf Ranking, run by the USGA and R&A and considered the premier amateur ranking, to compile its ranking list. That means that finally, a player’s amateur record can help him work his way toward Tour aspirations. The rankings will take into account the final two years of a player’s collegiate career, but he won’t appear on the ranking until his fourth year of college begins.
Events counting toward the Official PGA Tour University Ranking List include NCAA Division I men’s golf events and official PGA Tour events, including the Masters, U.S. Open and the Open Championship. According to the PGA Tour, the first Ranking List will be unveiled this summer leading into the start of the 2020-21 college golf season, with the Ranking List updated each week during the season.
PGA Tour University even allows a player to remain amateur – for example, to allow for a Walker Cup or World Amateur Team Championship appearance – and still receive his guaranteed starts. In this event, a player must declare in writing to the PGA Tour within three days following the release of the final Ranking List and may participate in events as a non-member. He would then have to join as a member within 10 days of the conclusion of the team event in which he was participating.
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