The Korn Ferry Tour has concluded the season in Indiana, and the new thirty players who will be promoted, advance, and play next year on the PGA Tour are now known.
The end of the year, as always, left great stories. Braden Thornberry, the winner of this last event, arrived in 51st place in the annual ranking, and practically only winning would allow him to ascend, which he did. He entered the final round with a six-shot deficit, but a final card of 66 in very tough conditions gave him the final victory. A memorable round that can change a career. The player from Tennessee thus secures full rights for the PGA Tour for the first time in his career.
Thornberry was the World Amateur Number One in 2018, replacing Joaquin Niemann at the top. A year earlier, he had shared a locker room in the Walker Cup with Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris. In fact, he arrived at the event as one of the team’s great stars, having just won the NCAA individual collegiate title. He also played with Collin Morikawa in the following year’s Arnold Palmer. His career promised fireworks.
Braden has taken longer than expected to reach the first division. Such are the times and paths of golf. Morikawa won the PGA Championship in 2020, and Thornberry has needed seven years to secure the card. A year ago, he also tried at the DP World Tour School when he saw he couldn’t achieve it through the PGA Tour route. He will be able to compete again against the current World Number One. The wait is over.
Another notable name who has secured the card is undoubtedly Aldrich Pogieter. The young player, just 20 years and 23 days old, has become the second-youngest graduate in the history of the Korn Ferry Tour, only behind Jason Day, who was 19 years, 11 months, and 23 days old when he ascended to the first division back in 2007. In fact, it was Aldrich who took the record from the Australian as the youngest winner in the history of the Korn Ferry Tour after winning the The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in January. The South African also became the second-youngest in history to win the Amateur Championship in 2022. He is breaking records for precocity.
Pogieter, a fishing enthusiast, left university just over a year ago and has already achieved his first major goal of playing with the best.
Of the thirty players who ascend to the first division of the circuit, a total of 23 will do so as rookies, as they have never before had full rights. Although the majority are logically American, the group of 30 includes players from eight countries (Australia, Chile, Germany, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, United States) and four continents.
The winner of the circuit in 2024 was Matt Macarthy, champion of three events in the current season and, therefore, had already achieved direct promotion in August. He has become the thirteenth player in history to ascend through that direct route.
In the fifteenth position of the ranking, we find Kevin Velo, an American son of a Spanish father who crossed the pond to fulfill the American dream and try to make a living, now seeing the reward of a life of sacrifice for his family and his son.
The Latin flavour to the list is provided by Cristóbal Solar, who has become the third Chilean in history to secure the card through this route after Benjamín Alvarado (2013) and Mito Pereira (2021).
Here are the names of the 30 players who ascend to the PGA Tour:
- Matt McCarty
- Max McGreevy
- Frankie Capan III
- Steven Fisk
- Tim Widing
- Taylor Dickson
- Brian Campbell
- Harry Higgs
- Thomas Rosenmueller
- William Mouw
- Quade Cummins
- Ryan Gerard
- Kevin Roy
- Cristobal Del Solar
- Kevin Velo
- Braden Thornberry
- Paul Peterson
- Isaiah Salinda
- Karl Vilips
- Jackson Suber
- Jeremy Paul
- Mason Andersen
- John Pak
- Kris Ventura
- Kaito Onishi
- Ricky Castillo
- Trevor Cone
- Danny Walker
- Aldrich Potgieter
- Noah Goodwin
