korn ferry tour school

Registration opens for 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry

A general view as a pin flag is blown by the wind on the 17th hole during the first round of the PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry tournament on the Dye's Valley Golf Course at TPC Sawgrass on December 14, 2023 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR)

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At Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry – scheduled for December 12-15 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, with the Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass and Sawgrass Country Club once again serving as host venues – the top five finishers and ties will earn PGA TOUR cards. Final Stage will also determine 2025 season eligibility for the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Americas.

Through a combination of live telecasts and livestreaming, Golf Channel will broadcast eight hours of live weekend coverage at Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

How It Works

PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry consists of four different stages, though competitors can bypass Pre-Qualifying, First Stage, or Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry if they meet the criteria of at least one exemption category for First, Second, or Final Stage.

Competition for Pre-Qualifying, First Stage, and Second Stage is conducted at several different sites, with the number of competitors advancing from each site being on a pro rata basis (i.e., approximately the same percentage from each site will advance).

Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry will be contested at Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass, as well as Sawgrass Country Club, with each competitor playing two rounds on each course. At the conclusion of the final round, the last set of PGA TOUR cards for the 2025 season will be awarded, with the others coming from the 2023-24 DP World Tour season (top 10 players from Race to Dubai Rankings not already exempt) and 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season (top 30 players on final points list).

• Pre-Qualifying (eight sites, 54-hole stroke play competition) – September 11-27
• First Stage (13 sites, 72-hole stroke play competition) – October 8-25
• Second Stage (five sites, 72-hole stroke play competition) – November 19-December 6
• Final Stage (72-hole stroke play competition) – December 12-15

Performance Benefits

The medalist (and ties) from each First Stage site, provided they do not improve their status at a subsequent stage, will be exempt through the Latin America Swing of the 2025 PGA TOUR Americas season.

The medalist (and ties) from each Second Stage site, provided they do not improve their status at Final Stage, will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership and be subject to the second reshuffle (i.e. – earn guaranteed starts for the first eight events) of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season.

Also at each Second Stage site, the next 10 finishers and ties after those players who advanced to Final Stage will earn conditional membership through the Latin America Swing of the 2025 PGA TOUR Americas season.

Performance benefits for Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry are as follows:

• Top five finishers and ties at Final Stage will earn PGA TOUR cards for the 2025 season
• Next 40 finishers and ties at Final Stage will earn exempt status through multiple reshuffles of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, with the first 25 finishers and ties being subject to the third reshuffle (i.e. – guaranteed starts for the first 12 events), and any remaining finishers within the category being subject to the second reshuffle (i.e. – guaranteed starts for the first eight events)
• All remaining finishers at Final Stage earn conditional status for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, in addition to being exempt through the Latin America Swing of the 2025 PGA TOUR Americas season

Exemption Categories

The field at Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry will feature players who advanced through the various stages of Q-School – Pre-Qualifying, First Stage, Second Stage – and others who automatically qualify by meeting the criteria of at least one exemption category.

Exemption categories for 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry are as follows:

First Stage

• Members of the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA), DP World Tour and Challenge Tour Ranked Members, PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, PGA TOUR Canada or PGA TOUR Americas during the years 2022, 2023 or 2024.

• Applicants that made the cut in a tournament awarding Official Money conducted by the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, DP World Tour, Challenge Tour, Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, PGA TOUR Canada or PGA TOUR Americas during the years 2023 or 2024 as of the First Qualifying Stage entry deadline (September 4, 2024).

• Applicants who played the Second Qualifying Stage of the 2021 or 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament or 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

• Applicants who finished in the top 50, including ties, at a First Qualifying Stage site of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament or 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

• Applicants that played in the 2023 or 2024: THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open or The Open Championship.

• Applicants that played in the 2024 PGA Professional Championship.

• Applicants that made the cut in the 2023 PGA Assistant Professional National Championship.

• Applicants ranked 101-200 on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to be released as of the entry deadline for First Qualifying Stage (September 4, 2024).

• Applicants ranked six through twenty-five (6-25) on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) to be released as of Wednesday, September 4, 2024.

• Applicants who qualified for the 2021 or 2023 Walker Cup.

• Applicants who played in the semifinals of the 2022, 2023 or 2024 U.S. Amateur, or the final of the 2022 or 2023 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Second Stage

• 2024 PGA TOUR Members who are eligible for tournament play as defined in the PGA TOUR Tournament Regulations.

• Applicants with an official victory in a 2022, 2023 or 2024 Korn Ferry Tour tournament as defined in the Korn Ferry Tour Tournament Regulations.

• Applicants finishing sixty-one through eighty-fifth (61-85) on the final 2024 Official Korn Ferry Tour Points List, as defined in the Korn Ferry Tour Tournament Regulations.

• Applicants who have made fifty (50) or more cuts in PGA TOUR cosponsored or approved tournaments awarding official money as of the Second Qualifying Stage entry deadline (October 2, 2024).

• Applicants who made the cut in the 2024: THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open or The Open Championship.

• Players ranked fifty-first through one hundred (51-100) on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to be released as of the entry deadline for Second Qualifying Stage (October 2, 2024).

• Applicants ranked sixth through twenty-fifth (6-25) on the current season’s Final Official 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking.

• Applicants ranked three through ten (3-10) on the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas Segment 1 Official Points List, as defined in the PGA TOUR Americas Tournament Regulations.

• Applicants ranked four through ten (4-10) on the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas Segment 2 Official Points List, as defined in the PGA TOUR Americas Tournament Regulations.

• Applicants ranked eleven through twenty-five (11-25) on the PGA TOUR Americas 2024 Official Season-Long Fortinet Cup Points List, as defined in the PGA TOUR Americas Tournament Regulations.

• Applicants ranked first through fifth (1-5) on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) to be released as of Wednesday, October 2, 2024.

• Applicants ranked one through five (1-5) including ties at the 2024 PGA Professional Championship.

• Applicants ranked one through five (1-5) on the current season’s Official Order of Merit for Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) as of the Second Qualifying Stage deadline (October 2, 2024).

• Applicants ranked two through five (2-5) on the 2023-2024 Final Official Order of Merit for the PGA Tour of Australasia.

• Applicants ranked two through five (2-5) on the 2023-2024 Final Official Players List for the Sunshine Tour.

• Applicants ranked one through five (1-5) on the 2024 Genesis Point List for the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) as of the Second Qualifying Stage deadline (October 2, 2024).

• Applicant who is a current Korn Ferry Tour member that has been disabled to the extent he is unable to compete in more than twelve (12) events in a season but has played in a minimum of five (5) Korn Ferry Tour events that season; has performed at a level which placed him 61st – 85th position on the Official Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List at the time he was disabled; or who has average points per event at the time he was disabled which would have placed him 61st – 85th position on the Official Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List for the entire season (determined by multiplying such an average number of Korn Ferry Tour events played by all Korn Ferry Tour members).

Final Stage

• The top 40 available applicants below the 125th position on the Final 2024 FedExCup Fall Playoffs & Eligibility Points List, to a floor of 200th position.

• Applicants ranked on the PGA TOUR Nonmember FedExCup Points list (including Special Temporary Members) whose combined official points and points earned in the Kentucky Championship and Barracuda Championship is equal to or greater than the 150th place finisher on the Final 2024 FedExCup Fall Playoffs and Eligibility Points List.

• Applicants ranked thirty-first through sixtieth (31-60) on the season ending 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Official Points List, as defined in the Korn Ferry Tour Tournament Regulations.

• Applicants ranked first through fifty (1-50) on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to be released as of the Final Qualifying Stage entry deadline (November 13, 2024).

• Applicants ranked two through five (2-5) on the current season’s Final Official 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking.

• Applicants ranked first and second (1 & 2) on the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas Segment 1 Official Points List, as defined in the PGA TOUR Americas Tournament Regulations.

• Applicants ranked one through three (1-3) on the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas Segment 2 Official Points List, as defined in the PGA TOUR Americas Tournament Regulations.

• Applicants ranked one through ten (1-10) on the PGA TOUR Americas 2024 Official Season-Long Fortinet Cup Points List, as defined in the PGA TOUR Americas Tournament Regulations.

• Leading player on the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) Official Order of Merit as of the Final Qualifying Stage deadline (November 13, 2024).

• Leading player on the PGA Tour of Australasia 2023-2024 Final Official Order of Merit.

• Leading player on the 2023-2024 Final Official Players List for the Sunshine Tour.

• Leading player on the 2024 Final Genesis Point List for the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) as of the Final Qualifying Stage deadline (November 13, 2024).

• Applicants among Major and Minor Medical Extension category members (as defined in the PGA TOUR Tournament Regulations) whose FedExCup Points earned in their “Available Tournaments”, when combined with the amount of FedExCup Points earned in their “Tournaments Played”, equals or exceeds the amount of FedExCup Points earned by the member who finished last in the 25 finishers beyond 125th place on the FedEx Cup Points List for the preceding season shall be exempt into Final Qualifying Stage in that year provided that the FedExCup Points earned in his “Tournaments Played” was less than the 150th finisher on the FedExCup Points List in the year of the applicant’s injury.

• Applicant who is a current Korn Ferry Tour member that has been disabled to the extent he is unable to compete in more than twelve (12) events in a season but has played in a minimum of five (5) Korn Ferry Tour events that season; has performed at a level which placed him 31st – 60th on the Official Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List at the time he was disabled; or who has average points per event at the time he was disabled which would have placed him 31st – 60th on the Official Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List for the entire season (determined by multiplying such an average number of Korn Ferry Tour events played by all Korn Ferry Tour members).

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Korn ferry tour q-school: xiong advances after closing 65.

• Brentley Romine ,
• Brentley Romine

The 12 first-stage sites for Korn Ferry Tour Q-School are in the books.

Among the notables to advance to second stage are recent college grads Chandler Phillips (Texas A&M), Bryson Nimmer (Clemson) and Zach Bauchou (Oklahoma State) while big names such as Justin Suh, Steven Fisk, Brad Dalke and Ty Tryon failed to move on.

Second stage will be played at five different sites Nov. 5-8.

Here is a quick recap of each first-stage site:

Dayton Valley GC, Dayton, Nev., Oct. 8-11

Notable qualifiers: Fredrik Nilehn, a former standout at Texas Tech by way of Sweden, closed in 9-under 63 to top the field at 16 under. ... Toni Hakula, a member of Texas’ 2012 NCAA title team, tied for fifth at 8 under. ... Michael Weaver, a former Cal standout and runner-up at the 2012 U.S. Amateur, finished at 7 under.

Not advancing: The man who beat Weaver at the 2012 U.S. Amateur, Steven Fox, closed in even par to miss by a shot at 2 under. ... Isaiah Salinda, a recent Stanford grad and Walker Cupper still playing as an amateur, finished at 1 over. ... Sulman Raza, who sunk the winning putt for Oregon at the 2016 NCAA Championship, was 2 over. Edwin Yi, who was also on that Ducks team, shot 19 over. ... Other non-qualifiers include former UNLV standout Shintaro Ban (6 over) and Mickey Werenski (7 over), brother of Tour pro Richy Werenski.

SunRiver CC, St. George, Utah, Oct. 8-11

Notable qualifiers: Chase Koepka, the younger brother of Brooks Koepka, opened in 64-54 and easily advance with a sixth-place finish at 14 under. ... Former Oregon star Norman Xiong, who lost his Korn Ferry Tour card last season, closed in 5-under 65 to advance by three shots at 11 under. ... Former UNLV teammates Taylor Montgomery (18 under) and Harry Hall advanced. Montgomery tied for first with former Washington player Corey Pereira. ... Jacob Bergeron, who turned pro early out of LSU before the 2018-19 season, birdied two of his last four holes to move on by a shot at 9 under. Other qualifiers include Sean Jacklin, son of Tony Jacklin, and Bryan Bigley.

Not advancing: Former Oklahoma State player Sam Stevens played his final four holes in 4 under but fell a shot short. ... Former UNLV standout A.J. McInerney posted a 5-under final nine but also came up just shy of advancing. ... Steven Kupcho, brother of Jennifer Kupcho, finished at 4 under.

The Club at Irish Creek, Kannapolis, N.C., Oct. 1-4

Notable qualifiers: Dru Love closed in 5-under 66 to tie for 16th and advance by two shots. ... Former Clemson standout Carson Young also capped his week in 66, finishing one clear of the cutoff. ... Kent State product Chase Johnson’s 23 under led the field. ... Recent Ohio State grad Daniel Wetterich finished at 20 under. ... Former Duke teammates Alex Smalley and Jake Shuman each tied for fourth at 17 under. ... Gavin Hall, who played collegiately at Texas, was solo sixth. ... Others to advance include 2018 NCAA individual champ Broc Everett (12 under), recent N.C. State grad Stephen Franken (13 under) and Stewart Jolly (14 under), who played on LSU’s 2015 NCAA title team.

Not advancing: Derek Bard, who finished runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau at the 2015 U.S. Amateur, closed in 66 but fell a shot short of moving on. ... George Bryan IV, brother of Wesley Bryan, finished at 5 under after a closing 73. ... Among the other notables not moving on were recent South Carolina grad Scott Stevens (2 under) and Clancy Waugh (2 over), son of PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh.

Grasslands G&CC, Lakeland, Fla., Oct. 1-4

Notable qualifiers: Former UCF player Connor Arendell led the way at 20 under. ... Former teammates John VanDerLaan and John Coultas, who helped Florida Southern to the 2017 NCAA D-II team titles, shot 17 under and 12 under, respectively. ... Recent Florida grad Gordon Neale advanced by a shot at 11 under. ... Others moving on include former junior standout Austen Truslow (16 under) and Iowa State product Nike Voke (13 under).

Not advancing: Cincinnati product Austin Squires, playing as an amateur, bogeyed his final hole to miss by a shot at 10 under. ... Former UCF standout Brad Schnieder also finished at 10 under despite a closing 63. ... Former NCAA D-III individual champ Anthony Maccaglia shot 9 under. ... Other non-qualifiers included North Carolina product William Register (7 under), former Florida standout Ale Tosti (7 under) and UCF product Greg Eason (3 over).

ArborLinks, Nebraska City, Neb., Oct. 1-4

Notable qualifiers: Former Virginia teammates Thomas Walsh and Danny Walker advanced at 10 under and 4 under, respectively. Walker was medalist at final stage last year. ... Former Illinois standout Nick Hardy was 6 under. ... Stephen Stallings Jr. and Chris Naegel tied for the best score at 11 under. ... Ohio State alum Tee-k Kelly birdied each of his final three holes to advance by a shot at 1 under. ... Other notable qualifiers include Oklahoma product Blaine Hale (3 under), who participated in NCAA match play all four years, and former Oklahoma State standout and Walker Cupper Jordan Niebrugge (2 under).

Not advancing: Former junior standout and USC product Anthony Paolucci shot 11 over. ... Cheng Jin, who won the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur, shot 25 over and failed to break 77 in three of his four rounds. ... Oklahoma products Beau Titsworth (18 over) and Rylee Reinertson (15 over) missed advancing. ... Other non-qualifiers included Ball State product Timothy Wiseman (2 over) and former Wake player Danny Guise (1 over).

The Breakers (Rees Jones), West Palm Beach, Fla., Oct. 1-4

Notable qualifiers: Curtis Thompson, brother of LPGA star Lexi Thompson, shot 15 under to finish tied for second with UNF alum Sean Dale. ... Former N.C. State star Matt Hill, who won eight times (including the NCAA individual title) during the 2008-09 season, finished at 13 under. ... Braden Thornberry, the 2017 NCAA individual champ and Haskins winner, placed eighth at 12 under. ... Former Illinois All-American Dylan Meyer finished at 10 under. ... Liberty alum Mickey DeMorat, nephew of comedian Daniel Tosh, birdied four of his last 10 holes to advance by a shot. ... Other qualifiers include UNF products Kevin Aylwin (5 under) and Philip Knowles (7 under), former FSU star Jack Maguire (9 under) and Florida/Barry product Jorge Garcia (5 under).

Not advancing: Olin Browne Jr. birdied each of the first five holes of his final nine but ultimately fell two shots shy at 2 under. ... Cristian DiMarco, son of Chris DiMarco, shot 6 over. ... Texas product Steven Chervony finished at 4 over. ... Among the rest of the non-qualifiers were Wake grad Cameron Young (2 over), UNF alum Andrew Alligood (8 over) and former top-ranked junior Shun Yat Hak (WD).

Bridges at Firewheel, Garland, Texas, Sept. 24-27

Notable qualifiers: Wisconsin grad and former Illinois state amateur champion Jordan Hahn, competing as an amateur, closed in 65 to advance by three shots at 11 under. … Zach Bauchou, a member of the Oklahoma State team that won the 2017 NCAA title, shot 14 under. … Mikel Martinson led the field at 21 under. … Penn State alum Cole Miller (-15), Oregon product Brandon McIver (-14) and Oklahoma alum Will Kropp (-10) were among the other qualifiers.

Not advancing: Former Oklahoma standout and U.S. Amateur runner-up Brad Dalke shot 73-73 in the final two rounds to miss by a shot at 8 under. … Former Oklahoma State teammates Hayden Wood (-7), Stratton Nolen (+1) and Nick Heinen (WD) all missed. … Former Florida standout Andy Zhang, who spent last season on the KFT, finished at 4 under. … Air Force captain Kyle Westmoreland closed in 69 but finished 7 under. … Andrew Loupe (-2), Kalena Preus (+8) and Austin Connelly (WD) among non-qualifiers.

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes GC, Maricopa, Ariz., Sept. 24-27

Notable qualifiers: K.K. Limbhasut (-17), who was teammates with Collin Morikawa at Cal, benefitted from a second-round 62 to finish first. He was joined by another recent Cal grad, Sebastian Cramption, who qualified at 11 under. … Former long-drive champ Jamie Sadlowski shot 12 under. … San Diego State alum Nahum Mendoza III, Oklahoma State product Brendon Jelley, Arizona State alum Alberto Sanchez and former Oklahoma player Michael Schoolcraft all advance by a shot at 6 under.

Not advancing: Former USC star Justin Suh birdied his final hole but fell a shot shy at 5 under. … Past Stanford standout Andrew Yun (-1) and Arizona State product Jared Du Toit (E) were among the other non-qualifiers.

Magnolia Grove (Crossing), Mobile, Ala., Sept. 24-27

Notable qualifiers: Recent Auburn grad Jacob Solomon closed in 66 to finish atop the leaderboard at 21 under. Other Auburn alums, Michael Johnson (-16), Trace Crowe (-10) and Michael Hebert (-8), all qualified. Hebert made nine birdies in his final round to make it by a shot. … Patrick Sullivan, who missed out on earning exempt status at final stage by one shot last year after putting a ball into the water , shot 18 under to easily advance. … Western Kentucky product Billy Tom Sargent (-12), North Carolina alum Ben Griffin (-10) and Hunter Hamrick (-8) were among the other qualifiers.

Not advancing: Former Vanderbilt standout Patrick Martin didn’t break 70 and finished at 6 under. … Scott Strohmeyer, the fifth man on Alabama’s 2013 NCAA title team, also shot 6 under. His teammate on that team, Cory Whitsett, finished at 10 over. … Baylor product Matthew Perrine (-5), Oklahoma State alum Zach Olsen (-1) and long-hitting Temple product Brandon Matthews (+3) were among the other non-qualifiers.

Soboba Springs GC, San Jacinto, Calif., Sept. 24-27

Notable qualifiers: Vanderbilt alum Theo Humphrey strung together four scores in the 60s to shoot 15 under and easily advance. … UC Riverside product David Gazzolo led the way at 20 under. … Morgan Deneen, a former PGM student who won a conference title for Coastal Carolina, finished at 18 under. …Alex Kang, brother of LPGA player Danielle Kang, used an opening 65 to post 10 under. … Bruce Doucett birdied three of his last four holes to advance by a shot at 8 under.

Not advancing: UCLA alum Manav Shah made a late triple bogey to shoot a closing 75 and miss by a shot at 7 under. … USC alum Andrew Levitt (-2), Pepperdine grad Roy Cootes (+2) and Oregon product Ryan Gronlund (+4) were among those not advancing.

The Landings Club (Oakri), Savannah, Ga., Sept. 24-27

Notable qualifiers: Richmond product Brad Miller finished first at 22 under. … Jimmy Jones, a USF alum and son of late LPGA winner Dawn Coe-Jones, shot 17 under. … Georgia product Dykes Harbin closed in 64 to advance at 13 under while former Bulldogs star Lee McCoy held on to make it by a shot at 11 under. … Clemson grad Bryson Nimmer (-13), Alabama alum Jonathan Hardee (-13) and UNF product Kevin Phelan (-11) were among the other qualifiers.

Not advancing: Georgia Southern grad and recent Walker Cupper Steven Fisk played his final 10 holes in 4 over to miss by one at 10 under. … Ty Tryon’s bid to advance fell way short at 8 over as the former prodigy shot 76 or worse twice. … UCF product Kyle Wilshire (-5), Georgia grad Zach Healy (+1) and Texas alum Taylor Funk (WD), the son of Fred Funk, were among the non-qualifiers.

The Woodlands CC, The Woodlands, Texas, Sept. 24-27

Notable qualifiers: Recent Baylor grad Braden Bailey shot 16 under to lead all qualifiers. Bailey’s former teammate Garrett May (-8) also advanced. … Brandon Pierce and Eric Ricard, members of LSU’s 2015 NCAA title squad, shot 10 under and 7 under, respectively. Another former Tiger, Nathan Jeansonne (-8), also moved on. … Will Grimmer, an Ohio State grad and two-time U.S. Open competitor, shot 9 under. … Former Texas A&M standout Chandler Phillips shot 8 under.

Not advancing: Texas Tech product Ivan Ramirez, playing as an amateur, shot 3 under to miss by two. …Trey Valentine (-1), Hojin Kang (+1), Jack Ireland (+2) and Matt Ceravolo (WD) were among the other non-qualifiers.

Korn Ferry Qualifying Tournament Korn Ferry Tour Q-School About $(function () { $('[data-toggle="popover"]').popover(); });

• Professional Men

Korn Ferry Tour Q-School Tournaments

Pre Qualifying- Ill

Bull Valley GC

Woodstock , IL

Pre Qualifying- NC

The Club at Irish Creek

Kannapolis , NC

Pre Qualifying- GA

Brunswick CC

Brunswick , GA

Pre Qualifying- KS

Sand Creek Station GC

Newton , KS

Pre Qualifying- Ohio

Mayfield SRC - Sand Ridge

Chardon , OH

Pre Qualifying- AL

Canyon/Loblolly

Greenville , AL

Pre Qualifying- CA

La Costa - South

Carlsbad , CA

Pre Qualifying- TX

The Bridges GC

Gunter , TX

First Stage- Arizona

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes GC

Maricopa , AZ

First Stage- FL 1

Country Club of Ocala

First Stage- NE

Wilderness Ridge CC-Champ

Lincoln , NE

First Stage- OK

Indian Springs - River

Broken Arrow , OK

First Stage - FL 2

The Preserve at Ironhorse

West Palm Beach , FL

First Stage - MS

Lake Caroline GC

Madison , MS

First Stage - NC

Bermuda Run CC - East

Bermuda Run , NC

First Stage - NM

UNM Championship Course

Albuquerque , NM

First Stage - TX 1

Rockwall Golf & Ath. Club

Rockwall , TX

First Stage - AL

Magnolia Grove-Crossing

Semmes , AL

First Stage - CA

Bear Creek Golf Club

Murrieta , CA

First Stage - IN

Champions Pointe GC

Henryville , IN

First Stage - TX 2

Abilene , TX

Second Stage - GA 1

The Landings- Deer Creek

Savannah , GA

Second Stage - AL

RTJ - Highlands/Marshwood

Dothan , AL

Second Stage - CA

Valencia CC

Valencia , CA

Second Stage - FL

Hammock Beach-Conservator

Palm Coast , FL

About Korn Ferry Tour Q-School

Korn Ferry Tour

The Korn Ferry is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay on the PGA Tour.

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PGA Tour Latinoamérica

PGA Tour Latinoamérica is a third level professional golf tour formed in 2012 and operated by the PGA Tour.

Mackenzie Tour - PGA Tour Canada

PGA Tour Canada is a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Oakville, Ontario. It was formally started in 1970 and was initially known as the Peter Jackson Tour, and became the Canadian Professional Golf Tour in 1986.

The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main professional golf tours played primarily by men in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour.

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FIRE PIT COLLECTIVE

Why this week’s KFT Q School forced some players into hard choices

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in Fire Pit Collective , a Golf Digest content partner.

Steve Dykes

In a professional golfer’s mind, securing tour status is somewhere between inspiring hopes and unattainable dreams. Q School season is winding down, and talented professional golfers and hopeless dreamers alike have embarked on another qualifying odyssey. The entry fees are steep, the travel costs high, and the competition merciless. To make matters more complicated, the landscape has changed. A massive amount of money has been showered upon the game, and there has never been a better time to be an established and, especially, elite player. But what about everyone else? What does the steep ascent to the top of professional golf look like when you’re at the bottom?

At the end of every season, aspiring professional golfers take inventory of their bankrolls, skills, mettle, family situation and more and make one of the biggest decisions of their careers: which qualifying school to enter. Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour Q School are held in the fall. Both have three main stages to navigate, and for KFT newcomers, an additional pre-qualifying stage. As players advance deeper into the stages, the dates of the Q Schools overlap.

Rico Hoey graduated from Southern California in 2017 and won in his first season on PGA Tour Canada. He recorded three top-10 finishes in his first season on the KFT in 2018, narrowly keeping his card. After failing to measure up the past few seasons, he ran the Q School gauntlet this fall.

“No matter what Q School I do, I just want to get on a tour and play there,” Hoey (below) says. “Once the prices came out, it was pretty shocking.” The $6,500 price tag to enter KFT Q School was steep, but he decided it was worth the risk. DPWT Q School had been on a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, but the $2,200 cost didn’t change.

Wesley Hitt

“I decided to try both,” Hoey says. “I always knew if I got to the final stage of both, I’d choose the Korn Ferry Tour. If I didn’t make it through KFT, at least I had the DP World Tour as a backup.” Hoey was unwavering at the first and second stage of KFT Q School, advancing after finishing T-10 and T-6. Between stages, he traveled to Denmark for DPWT Q School, but the rain and cold dampened his momentum, and he failed to advance.

Jhared Hack is a past champion of the Western Junior and Western Amateur and was a top professional prospect when he left the University of Central Florida in 2009. He has played three seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour since, with a handful of PGA Tour and DPWT starts to his name. In recent years he battled the driver yips, but he slowly worked his way back to the brink of the big time. Last year he spent an entire practice round vibrating on another frequency, shooting a 15-under-par 57 at Las Vegas Golf Club. He posted a final-round 63 to win the Arizona Open. Still, he had minimal financial support this season, so Hack carefully weighed his Q School choices.

“First thing was the monetary value: $2,200 vs $6,500,” he recalls. “I’m gonna get a life experience from one of those. I’d never been to Italy.” Hack focused all of his energy and resources on DPWT Q School, in part because of the ultimate carrot: As part of the strategic alliance between the PGA Tour and the DPWT, the top 10 finishers at the end of the DPWT season will earn PGA Tour cards. Last month Hack traveled to Italy, shot 14 under and advanced to the second stage by four shots. “Beautiful to see,” Hack says in reflecting on the experience. “I stayed for a few extra days and got to see the Swiss Alps, which was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

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Stuart Macdonald is Canadian and a 2016 Purdue graduate. Macdonald fell just shy of gaining his PGA Tour card in 2021, finishing outside the top 25 on the KFT Finals points list, at 33rd. That season he had four top 10s in a stretch of five events. When a middling 2022 season left him without tour status, Macdonald signed up for both Q Schools.

“At the time when I decided to do DP, it was solely on the idea that I wanted status badly somewhere,” Macdonald says. “I wanted to have two chances essentially.” He excelled at first and second stage of KFT Q School and advanced through DPWT first stage. “It’s so important to get status this year because of what the future looks like,” he says.

With billions of dollars fueling the rise of LIV Golf and forcing the PGA Tour’s frantic restructuring, golfers trying to play their way to the top feel a particular urgency. In 2023, the PGA Tour will have 13 elevated events, each with a $20 million purse; the top 70 players are exempt into those. Players outside the top 70 are fighting desperately to move up, but until they do, they will be relegated to lesser tournaments. Jack Nicklaus expressed concern about non-elevated events, specifically the long-running Honda Classic, calling these tournaments “feeders.” Tournament directors from non-elevated events and others around the Tour have expressed similar concerns about an expanding chasm between players and events that were instrumental in building the tour. As for those players trying to move up, they are fighting a stiff headwind.

The Korn Ferry Tour is undergoing its own changes. Purses next season will increase from $750,000 to $1 million per event, a move that was announced well before LIV’s debut. The number of PGA Tour cards awarded at the end of the next KFT season will increase from 25 to 30. The tour has eliminated its three-event postseason, called the KFT Finals, at which 25 additional cards were awarded. The KFT Finals was open to the top 75 players on KFT and players ranked 126 through 200 on the final FedEx Cup standings from the PGA Tour. Players ranked 26 through 30 at the end of the year will undoubtedly be grateful, but the elimination of the Finals could mean a loss of PGA Tour cards, or at least an opportunity, for KFT members. Excelling early in the KFT season is now essential.

“I always felt like I wanted to get my tour card in the regular season because I felt like you earned it a little more,” Macdonald says, adding that the schedule changes will probably make the Korn Ferry Tour more competitive.

Hoey agrees. “It just makes it that much harder,” he says. “You need to win.”

As the KFT season winds down and the order of merit points accumulate, it will become more difficult to make a meaningful move up the points list. The KFT Finals gave hope to players looking for another avenue to secure their PGA Tour cards. In some cases, one hot week did the trick. Previously, some KFT members who had locked up their KFT cards for the following season but weren’t close to winning a PGA Tour card might have taken an event or two off to rest before the Finals. That created more opportunities for players farther down the standings. Without the three-event Finals, the end of a KFT season probably will be must-play. It most certainly will be exhausting and pressure-packed.

“You gotta play better,” Hoey says. “It’s not just about retaining your card now. Playing opportunities are going to get tougher and tougher. You just have to adapt. All I care about right now is to get starts and go play.” While the significant bump in KFT purses is welcomed, it’s long overdue. For players in the highest level of golf’s minor leagues, the pursuit isn’t getting any cheaper.

J.T. Griffin is a former Georgia Tech standout who graduated to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2017. From 2019 to ’21, Griffin accumulated five top-10 finishes on the KFT, but he only maintained conditional status for the 2022 season. He and his fiancee, Mary Kaitlyn, had their first child, Graham, in early 2021. After failing to advance through Q School this season, he is now questioning the feasibility of playing professional golf with a young family.

“I was in the 76-to-85 category this year,” says Griffin, referring to his final KFT ranking. “In April I no longer had health coverage. If you’re under the PGA Tour umbrella, how are you not covered health insurance-wise? I can’t go to the doctor.” The PGA Tour provides a generous health insurance stipend for full members of the Korn Ferry Tour, or those who finish in the top 75, but not for conditional members. Griffin (below) says he spent about $75,000 a year in expenses, and despite maintaining conditional status after the 2020-21 season, when he made 19 cuts in 38 starts, he had little to show for it.

“I need to do something for Graham and my family,” says Griffin. “I was on the Korn Ferry Tour and I couldn’t afford to be on the Korn Ferry Tour. I’ve been talking to some friends who were right at 75. And I was like, ‘Hey, man, what is your end of the year?’ And they’re like, ‘I didn’t make anything.’ You’re a professional athlete on one of the biggest stages in our sport and there’s nothing. And we will continue to come back because the PGA Tour is that cool. You get a taste of it and you’ll chase it until it kills you and everyone around you.”

Some 10,000 miles away, opportunity calls louder than ever. The Asian Tour has suddenly become an attractive option for players from the West. LIV committed $300 million to the Asian Tour over the next 10 years, and purses are expanding. (For the elevated International Series events, purses are expected to be between $2 million and $4 million.) And for the first time ever, an early stage of Asian Tour Q School will be held in the U.S., in Arizona later this month. The implications could be far-reaching.

After graduating from Yale, James Nicholas gained status on the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2020 season. He won the 2020 New York State Open and had three top-20 finishes on KFT in the 2020-21 season. Last month he advanced through the first stage of KFT Q School in Mobile, Ala., then immediately flew across the Atlantic for DWPT Q School, where he failed to qualify. The following week, he was back in Alabama for the second stage of KFT Q School. Understandably fatigued, Nicholas struggled.

So he turned his attention to the Asian Tour. “I want to play on the PGA Tour,” Nicholas says. “But you do need to make a decision when you’re going to Q School and you don’t get through, to find a place to play. To find a place to hone your skills. You have to support yourself financially. I think the strength of field over there (Asian Tour) is going to be way better; that’s why you get more World Ranking points.”

What will probably give some players pause from embarking on an Asian adventure is the lack of a clear pathway leading back home. LIV has said the top player from the Asian Tour International Series will be promoted to its tour. The opportunity to play for one spot, however, is unlikely to drive the long-term decisions of many players. The Asian Tour is more likely to host LIV players in search of World Ranking points than the other way around. Still, millions of dollars in prize money and the chance to travel the world will entice many.

“I was going to sign up for Asian Q School if I didn’t get through Italy,” Hack says. “But all the sites are full. All my friends are wait-listed. Apparently that Arizona site filled up in five minutes.”

“My goal is to play on the PGA Tour, it’s not to play over in Asia for 10 years,” Nicholas says. “My hope is I play one year over there, win a couple times and get my World Ranking points high enough to get a couple of [PGA Tour] invites.”

“It seems like some doors are closing and some doors are opening,” Macdonald says.

The doors quietly closing are on the lowest levels of PGA Tour sanctioned competition. PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada are the entry-level circuits for the PGA Tour. Tour benefits are structured similarly between the two tours, and purses are about $175,000. Events span provinces, countries and in the case of Latinoamerica, continents.

“It’s expensive to travel through Latin America. It’s not easy. Same with Canada,” says Nicholas, who played often in Canada this season. “You can be playing pretty decent golf and lose $20,000 to $30,000 in the span of 10 weeks.”

The value of a strong performance on PGA Tour Latinoamerica has recently been diminished. Consistent with past seasons, the top player will earn full status on the Korn Ferry Tour. Players ranked second through fifth will gain conditional KFT status, but they will have to go to the second stage of Q School to improve their positions. In past seasons, players ranked 2 through 10 received conditional status on KFT through an exemption to the final stage of Q School. Players ranked sixth through 10th won’t receive KFT status. Players ranked 11th through 25th had gained an exemption to the second stage of Q School, but that perk has been eliminated. Although the same changes haven’t been announced for PGA Tour Canada, players anticipate that’s only a matter of time.

The reduction of benefits and stagnated purses on PGA Tour Latinoamerica resulted in fewer signups for three of its four qualifying tournaments. This is a major departure from past seasons and an ominous sign for the tour. Before deciding to play Asian Tour Q School, Nicholas (below) signed up for PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

“I heard a rumor that Latin (Tour) was slashing their spots,” Nicholas says. “I spent $1,750 on Q School not knowing that only one player was going to get guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, when it was five the year before. The big thing for me was a top 20 used to get exempt to the second stage (of KFT Q School) and now it’s only top 10.” Despite his preference to remain closer to home, Nicholas withdrew from Latinoamerica Q School and looked to Asia.

“I think traveling through Asia would be just as hard as traveling through Latin America,” says Nicholas, who adds that there were few advantages to playing the Latinoamerica circuit. “If you finished 11th on the money list, it meant you probably won a tournament and you had to go back to the first stage of Q School.”

With their small purses and high travel costs, these development circuits relied on the enticement of potential exemptions to the next level. With those drying up, more players may consider spending their resources elsewhere.

Griffin played in nine PGA Tour Canada events in 2022 and had a pair of top-10 finishes, securing PGA Tour Canada status for next year. “You’re kind of in purgatory when you’re on any of the tours that aren’t the PGA Tour,” he says. “How do I have that conversation with Mary Kaitlyn and Graham? Hey, I’m gonna be gone all summer, and if we’re lucky we won’t spend any of our money. We can’t put any money in your college fund, and don’t get sick because we can’t afford to take you to the doctor.”

“Reading about the Latinoamerica Tour, it was kind of shocking because at this point it’s like, what’s the point of having this tour?” Hoey asks. “Do you want those guys to advance at all?”

Hack played multiple seasons on both the Latinoamerica circuit and PGA Tour Canada. He still sees a benefit for aspiring pros to compete on these tours. “The way I look at all these events is I’m just buying experience,” he says. “You’re buying an experience to use for Q School.”

The good news for professional golf hopefuls is that Q School is returning to glory. For the first time since 2012, it will offer a direct pathway to the PGA Tour. The top five and ties at the final stage of 2023 Q School will get to play for the big bucks. Fans who have glanced at golf headlines over the past six months know some PGA Tour events are getting massive purse bumps. “It’s great that [the PGA Tour] magically found a couple hundred million,” Phil Mickelson quipped at a recent LIV press conference. “That’s awesome.” It’s a line repackaged around every level of professional golf. The entry fee for next year’s Q School will be anybody’s guess. What we do know is that the opportunity to win one of those coveted PGA Tour cards is getting more difficult.

“Everyone is just so much better,” Hack says. “Cuts that used to be 1 or 2 under par are 5 or 6 under now. Look at annual sites for Q School like Plantation Preserve (a second-stage site for KFT Q School). I think I’ve gotten through there twice and the cut’s been six under, and it took 13 under this year. Yeah, the weather might have been a little better, but players are just getting better.”

It wasn’t the increased depth of the competition that ended Hack’s Q School run, however. His usually precise iron game and deft touch around the greens abandoned him at second stage of DPWT Q School. He’s now facing another season without a tour to compete on. “I couldn’t scrape it in any way at all,” Hack says. “I’m shocked and frustrated for sure.”

Junior golfers grow up dreaming about a career on the PGA Tour and contending in majors. As juniors become skilled collegians, those dreams become goals and then pursuits. For the top collegiate prospects, taking advantage of sponsor exemptions was a way to earn status on tour. With limits on the number of sponsor exemptions a rising star can accept, however, few turn those opportunities into tangible status. Many are relegated to the first stage of Q School or a developmental tour. Then there’s 22-year-old Eugenio Chacarra, who decided to forgo his senior year at Oklahoma State to sign with LIV. Last month he won the LIV even t in Bangkok, a $4 million payday. Chacarra (below) has been joined on LIV by two other top college players: David Puig from Arizona State and James Piot from Michigan State.

Jonathan Ferrey/LIV Golf

Does this mean the fuel that ignites ambitious players everywhere is changing? Is it now all about the Benjamins?

Macdonald sees new and uncertain pathways to earn a living as a professional golfer. “Money has become the driver,” he says. “I mean, it always has been, but more so now. I just think for so many players it fogs their vision of what their dreams were of playing professional golf and what that looks like. It’s not as clear anymore.” After a disheartening T-126 finish at the final stage of KFT Q School, where the top 40 finishers earned guaranteed starts for next season, Macdonald faces more uncertainty. “I’m just kind of, like, confused,” he says. “I couldn’t get out of my own way after the first day. It just wasn’t easy. It’s obviously an important week. It was a long week.” His path back to the Korn Ferry Tour next season will run through Monday qualifiers. “Definitely going to get after the Mondays,” Macdonald says. “I’ll be on that grind for a little bit. Hopefully not too long.”

Hoey, who turned 27 in September, is focused on reaching the PGA Tour. “It is cool to see the money is growing,” he says. “That’s the biggest thing. It’s really enticing. I just hope some of that money filters down to the Korn Ferry Tour.” Like Macdonald, Hoey was also in the enviable position of having a tee time at KFT’s final stage. “I’m still pretty young and for me, I just want to give it a shot on the PGA Tour,” he says.

After struggling to an opening-round 73, Hoey battled back with rounds of 70, 67 and 68, finishing T-17 to regain a coveted Korn Ferry Tour card. He left Georgia elated and relieved—and knowing he’ll have eight guaranteed starts to begin the 2023 season. “I’m just glad it’s over,” he says. “I can’t even describe it. I feel like I’m getting better. I’m one step closer to the PGA Tour. There’s no other feeling like it. It’s just awesome.”

Andrew Wevers

Professional golf has long prided itself on being a true meritocracy: shoot low scores and you will move up the ranks. There is optimism among professional golf hopefuls that when they do arrive at the top, the reward will be greater than ever. There is also growing concern that top players have more protection than ever. Rather than the considerable money at the top trickling down, it’s getting gobbled up. In a professional golfer’s mind, tour status is somewhere between inspiring hopes and unattainable dreams. Achieving that will take more grit—and more money—than ever.

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Korn ferry tour q-school's monday finish features clutch late birdie to break four-way tie for medalist honors, share this article.

On Monday the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School wrapped up play, with one player earning fully exempt status for the 2022 season, nine earning 12 guaranteed starts and a whopping 39 earning eight starts.

Zack Fischer, the 32-year-old Texas grad who missed the cut in his lone start on the KFT last season, made a birdie on his final hole at the Landings Club in Savannah, Georgia, to secure medalist honors by one shot over rookie Jonathan Brightwell. Fischer was one of just four players to shoot in the 60s in all four rounds of the final stage, which was delayed a day by inclement weather.

Fully-exempt feeling. 🏆 @ZackFisch3 earns Q-School medalist honors with a birdie at the 72nd hole @LandingsClub ! #KornFerryTour pic.twitter.com/WhzBybajbr — Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) November 8, 2021

Joining Brightwell at 13 under were Vincent Norrman and Andre Kozan. Michael Feagles and Sam Stevens finished T-5 at 11 under followed by Grant Hirshman (-10), Andrew Yun (-9), Conner Godsey (-7) and Tain Lee (-6). All will have 12 starts next season.

The following players will have eight guaranteed starts in 2022:

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• Matt McCarty
• José de Jesús Rodríguez
• Clay Feagler
• Seonghyeon Kim
• John Augenstein
• Alexandre Rocha
• Brandon Crick
• Peyton White
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15-year-old to make PGA Tour debut after success on Korn Ferry Tour

Miles Russell, a high school freshman from Florida, is headed to the Rocket Mortgage Classic on a sponsor exemption.

Having made history by making the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event, a high school freshman is getting the call to the big leagues.

Miles Russell, 15, accepted a sponsor exemption for the Rocket Mortgage Classic later this month. That has him set to become one of the youngest players to ever compete on the PGA Tour.

“Ever since I first started playing golf,” Russell said in a statement Monday, “my dream has been to compete on the PGA Tour and test my game against the best players, and I’m looking forward to making the most of the experience later this month.”

A native of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., Russell added that he was “thankful” to the Detroit-based tournament’s title sponsor for giving him the opportunity to make his debut at golf’s highest level.

Welcome to the @PGATOUR , Miles Russell! The youngest player to ever make a cut on the @KornFerryTour is bringing his talents to Detroit for his PGA TOUR debut at the #RocketMortgageClassic . pic.twitter.com/PxYVyRz8nT — Rocket Mortgage Classic (@RocketClassic) June 3, 2024

It’s the next step in what has already been an impressive career in the sport for Russell, who last year became the youngest boy to earn player of the year recognition from the American Junior Golf Association, besting a mark set more than three decades earlier by Tiger Woods.

Russell’s feat on the Korn Ferry Tour came at an event in April. Playing in his home state at the Suncoast Classic, Russell opened with rounds of 68 and 66 to become the youngest player to make a cut on that circuit. He broke a record set in 2006 by Gipper Finau, the younger brother of PGA Tour standout Tony Finau.

Assuming he tees off at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Russell won’t be the youngest to do so on the PGA Tour. That status is still held by Michelle Wie West, who was 14 years 3 months 4 days old when she used a sponsor exemption to play in the 2004 Sony Open, where she barely missed the cut .

The youngest boy to play in a PGA Tour event was 14-year-old Guan Tianlang at the 2013 Masters, where he made the cut . Per the PGA Tour, older 14-year-olds who also made their tour debuts at that age include Andy Zhang (2012 U.S. Open) and Lorens Chan (2009 Sony Open). Russell will join a list of 15-year-old PGA Tour debutantes that includes John Oda (2012 Sony Open), Tadd Fujikawa (2006 U.S. Open) and, going back to the 1957 Canadian Open, Bob Panasik.

Russell, who finished tied for 20th at the Korn Ferry event, will seek to become the youngest PGA Tour player to make a cut since Guan at the 2013 Zurich Classic. Last month, a pair of 16-year-olds, Kris Kim (at the Byron Nelson) and Blades Brown (at the Myrtle Beach Classic) made cuts on the tour.

The recently completed U.S. Women’s Open saw a 15-year-old girl, Asterisk Talley , make the cut and appear near the top of the leader board before she finished tied for 44th.

“Miles exemplifies the future of golf, and our tournament is the perfect stage for young talent to shine,” Rocket Mortgage executive Casey Hurbis said of Russell in a statement Monday.

Russell also has accepted a sponsor exemption to play in another PGA Tour event, the Bermuda Championship, in November. In a qualifying tournament Monday for this year’s U.S. Open, he shot even par over two rounds, performing better than accomplished veterans such as Harold Varner III and Russell Knox but still falling three shots short of possibly making that field.

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15-year-old Miles Russell to make PGA Tour debut at Rocket Mortgage Classic after Korn Ferry Tour history

Miles Russell is going to get his shot on the PGA Tour a bit earlier than expected.

Russell, who became the youngest player to ever make the cut on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this year at just 15 years old, will make his PGA Tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

The tournament offered Russell one of its four sponsor’s exemptions for the event, which will kick off on June 27 at Detroit Golf Club in Michigan.

“I am thankful to Rocket Mortgage for giving me the opportunity to make my PGA Tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic,” Russell said in a statement. “Ever since I first started playing golf, my dream has been to compete on the PGA Tour and test my game against the best players, and I’m looking forward to making the most of the experience later this month.”

Russell finished T20 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in April , which made him the youngest player to complete a top-25 finish on either the PGA Tour or the Korn Ferry Tour since they started keeping records in 1983. Russell posted a 5-under 66 in his final round, thanks to an incredible stretch where he carded seven birdies in 10 holes.

Russell made the cut at the event when he was 15 years, five months and 17 days old — which made him the youngest to ever pull that off. Gripper Finau, who is the younger brother of PGA Tour golfer Tony Finau, held the previous mark at 16 years old. China’s Guan Tianlang holds the Tour record after he made the cut at the Masters when he was just 14 years old in 2013.

Russell earned a spot at the Suncoast Classic through a sponsor’s exemption. He is the reigning American Junior Golf Association’s Player of the Year, and he won the Junior PGA Championship last year by seven shots. The only other male golfer to win the AJGA’s Player of the Year award at 15 years old was Tiger Woods.

Russell, who will be a sophomore in high school next fall in the Jacksonville area, failed to qualify for the Puerto Rico Open earlier this year. He fell in a playoff at that event. He has earned a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Tour this fall, too, so he will get at least two starts.

“The Rocket Mortgage Classic is known as a tournament where ‘future stars start,’ and we’re thrilled to have Miles make his PGA Tour debut here and add to that legacy,” Rocket Mortgage Classic executive director Jason Langwell said in a statement. “He has proved with his many accomplishments at such a young age that he belongs, and we are excited to see Miles compete alongside the world’s best golfers here at Detroit Golf Club.”

The Rocket Mortgage Classic will be held June 27-30, between the U.S. Open and the British Open. Rickie Fowler won the tournament last year, which marked his first Tour victory in more than four years.