Latest news with #PGATourU
USA Today
23-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Virginia's Ben James leads PGA Tour University preseason rankings for Class of 2026
Fall is quickly approaching, which means college golf is right around the corner. The 2025-26 season is almost upon us, as plenty of the best amateurs in the game will tee it up in search of a national championship. This season, the NCAA Championship returns to Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California, where the Northwestern women and Oklahoma State men took home titles in May. With the new season also means new PGA Tour University rankings for the Class of 2026. On Wednesday, PGA Tour U announced its preseason rankings for the Class of 2026. This will be the sixth year of PGA Tour U, with David Ford finishing in the top spot last year and earning a PGA Tour card. The preseason ranking includes players from 16 schools, with Ole Miss having four players in the preseason top 25. In all, the top 25 features players from seven countries: China, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the United States. In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking, PGA Tour U ranks players based on the last two years of their collegiate careers. Eligible tournaments include NCAA Division I men's team competitions, official PGA Tour tournaments and select DP World Tour events. The ranking period for the Class of 2026 began Week 23/2024 and concludes June 1, 2026, following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Division I men's national championship. The No. 1 player in the final PGA Tour University Ranking next June will earn PGA Tour membership, while players Nos. 2-10 will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2026 and players Nos. 11-25 will earn exempt membership for PGA Tour Americas Segment II in 2026. Finishers Nos. 2-5 will be exempt into Final Stage of Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, while Nos. 6-25 will be exempt into Second Stage. PGA Tour University Class of 2026 preseason rankings James is a three-time Golfweek first team All-American. He has six victories in 35 collegiate starts, and he helped the Cavaliers to a national runner-up finish at the 2025 NCAA Championship. James has represented the United States twice at the Arnold Palmer Cup (2023, 2024) and will make his second appearance at the Walker Cup in September. He has made nine starts on the PGA Tour, including the last two U.S. Opens, and finished T-33 at the Valero Texas Open in April. In 2024-25, Maas led the Longhorns with 18 rounds in the 60s and posted eight top-10s, including a victory at the Pauma Valley Invitational. A native of Pretoria, South Africa, Maas has four made cuts in seven starts on the DP World Tour, including a fourth-place finish at the Investec South African Open Championship in March 2025. La Sasso became the second player from Ole Miss to win the NCAA individual title, joining Braden Thornberry (2017). In 12 starts during his junior season, La Sasso tallied three victories and compiled the lowest scoring average (69.48) in program history en route to being named a Golfweek first-team All-American. He is making his fifth PGA Tour start of the summer at this week's 3M Open, and in September he will join James on the U.S. team at the Walker Cup. Morrison posted 10 top-20 finishes during his junior season at Texas, including his first collegiate victory at the Amer Ari Invitational. In June 2024, he became the first American to win the European Amateur and earned an exemption into the 2024 Open Championship, where he made the cut and finished T-60. Morrison has advanced to match play at The Amateur Championship the last two years. Summy's junior season included seven top-10s and a victory at the Maridoe Intercollegiate, and he led the Sooners with 20 rounds in the 60s and a 70.35 scoring average. His 2024 summer was highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Sunnehanna Amateur, and this summer he has a T-12 at the Northeast Amateur and T-3 at the Southern Amateur. Oklahoma is the only school that has produced a PGA Tour U graduate each of the first five years (2021-25), and the Sooners lead all schools with eight PGA Tour U alumni. Nos. 6-25
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rory McIlroy Makes Strong Statement on PGA Tour's Decision
Rory McIlroy Makes Strong Statement on PGA Tour's Decision originally appeared on Athlon Sports. As players on the PGA Tour gear up for one final tune-up before the U.S. Open, attention turns to the RBC Canadian Open. Some of the game's top names will tee it up in Canada while others use the week for final preparations before heading to historic Oakmont Country Club next week. Advertisement Among those in the field is career grand slam winner Rory McIlroy, who shared his thoughts on the current landscape of the PGA Tour, showing strong support for the growing PGA Tour University program. "That's the future of the tour," McIlroy said. "I love that PGA Tour U program." A big part of that discussion centered around 21-year-old Luke Clanton, who will make his PGA Tour professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open before heading to the U.S. Open the following week. "It seems like these college kids are coming out just ready," McIlroy continued. "You look at the past few years, Ludvig (Aberg), for example, Michael Thorbjornsen and obviously Luke. I think this PGA Tour U program is so good. If it were up to me, I'd give the college kids five or 10 spots on tour instead of just one. Advertisement "Bringing new blood through every year is so important for the Tour." Rory McIlroy enters this week's RBC Canadian Open with three wins in nine PGA Tour starts in 2025. Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Clanton, a Florida State product from Hialeah, Florida, already has major experience. He made the cut at the 2023 U.S. Open and finished tied for 41st. Earlier this season, he secured enough points at the Cognizant Classic to lock in PGA Tour membership. McIlroy, meanwhile, heads to Oakmont in search of his sixth career major. His last U.S. Open title came in 2011. He won the Masters in April and finished tied for 47th at the PGA Championship last month. As the U.S. Open approaches, the excitement around Clanton's debut and McIlroy's quest for another major title will be two big storylines to follow. Advertisement Related: Scottie Scheffler Earns New Nickname After 16th PGA Tour Win Related: Rory McIlroy Sends Strong Message to Scottie Scheffler After 16th PGA Tour Win This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Carolina's David Ford tops PGA Tour University Class of 2025, earns PGA Tour card
CARLSBAD, Calif. — David Ford joined an exclusive club Monday. He became the third player in the history of the PGA Tour to earn his Tour membership via PGA Tour University class rankings, following in Ludvig Aberg and Michael Thorbjornsen's footsteps. And it became official as soon as stroke play ended Monday at the 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championship. Advertisement The fifth PGA Tour University rankings were finalized Monday, and the top-25 golfers secured status on varying professional tours. But it was Ford taking home the top prize. Players who finished Nos. 2-5 in the final PGA Tour U rankings earned fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2025, as well as an exemption to final stage of 2025 PGA Tour Q-School. Players who finished Nos. 6-10 earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2025, fully exempt membership on PGA Tour Americas for 2026 through the Latin America swing, as well as an exemption to second stage of 2025 PGA Tour Q-School. Then, Nos. 11-25 earned fully exempt membership on PGA Tour Americas for 2025, as well as an exemption to second stage of 2025 PGA Tour Q-School. Advertisement The program is designed to streamline the process for college players to advance to the professional level while also rewarding those who honor their college commitments. Players must play on the NCAA Division I level and complete a minimum of four years in college to be eligible for PGA Tour U. PGA Tour University Class of 2025 final standings No. 1. David Ford, North Carolina Ford's senior season was stellar, picking up five wins. He was one of the finalists for the Haskins Award and made his professional debut last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth playing on a sponsor exemption. Now, he's a PGA Tour member. No. 2. Brendan Valdes, Auburn Last year, Valdes helped Auburn win its first title in school history. He has been a member of the Arnold Palmer Cup team and a past All-America selection. No. 3. Josele Ballester, Arizona State Ballester won the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National and became the first Spaniard to win the Havemeyer Trophy. Picked up one win as a senior. No. 4. Ian Gilligan, Florida Gilligan, who transferred from Long Beach State to Florida, has been a big part of the Gators' lineup his past two years and collected six wins during his college career. No. 5. Jackson Van Paris, Vanderbilt Van Paris was Vanderbilt's best player this season, and he shined down the stretch to move up into the fifth spot. Nos. 6-10 6. Phichaksn Maichon, Texas A&M Advertisement 7. Preston Summerhays, Arizona State 8. Sebastian Moss, Louisville 9. Omar Morales, UCLA 10. Pablo Ereno Perez, UCLA Nos. 11-25 No. 11. Algot Kleen, LSU No. 12. Jackson Buchanan, Illinois No. 13. Justin Hastings, San Diego State No. 14. Carson Bacha, Auburn No. 15. Drew Goodman, Oklahoma No. 16. Caden Fioroni, UNLV No. 17. Calum Scott, Texas Tech No. 18. Buck Brumlow, Georgia No. 19. Jake Peacock, South Florida No. 20. Enrique Dimayuga, SMU No. 21. Nathan Franks, South Carolina No. 22. Kieron van Wyk, Charleston No. 23. Gray Albright, Florida State No. 24. Hunter Thomson, Michigan No. 25. Nicholas Mathews, NC State This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Final PGA Tour University Class of 2025 rankings: David Ford wins card
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Josele Ballester declines Korn Ferry Tour membership via PGA Tour U
Josele Ballester won't be playing the Korn Ferry Tour this summer. The recent Arizona State grad, who recently capped his college career with a T-4 finish at the NCAA Championship and a quarterfinal exit by the Sun Devils, officially declined the KFT membership he received as the No. 3 finisher in the PGA Tour University rankings, has learned. Advertisement With Ballester declining membership, several PGA Tour U grads improved their status. Texas A&M's Phichaksn Maichon was bumped to fifth, which comes with a full KFT card and now an exemption into final stage of PGA Tour Q-School this December. LSU's Algot Kleen moves to No. 10, now receiving full KFT membership in addition to his exemption into second stage of Q-School. Ole Miss' Kye Meeks goes from nothing to No. 25 and full PGA Tour Americas status. Auburn's Brendan Valdes, Florida's Ian Gilligan, Vanderbilt's Jackson Van Paris, Arizona State's Preston Summerhays, Louisville's Sebastian Moss and UCLA teammates Omar Morales and Pablo Ereno are the other newly minted KFT members from this PGA Tour U class. North Carolina's David Ford won the PGA Tour U points list this season – Ballester was in the running for this until Ford won three straight events in the spring – to earn his PGA Tour card for the next season and a half. He made his pro debut two weeks ago at Colonial and will join Gordon Sargent and Luke Clanton, two PGA Tour U Accelerated achievers, in this week's field at the RBC Canadian Open. Auburn's Jackson Koivun also has earned 20 points through Accelerated, though he's returning for his junior year.
NBC Sports
02-06-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Josele Ballester declines Korn Ferry Tour membership via PGA Tour U
Josele Ballester won't be playing the Korn Ferry Tour this summer. The recent Arizona State grad, who recently capped his college career with a T-4 finish at the NCAA Championship and a quarterfinal exit by the Sun Devils, officially declined the KFT membership he received as the No. 3 finisher in the PGA Tour University rankings, has learned. With Ballester declining membership, several PGA Tour U grads improved their status. Texas A&M's Phichaksn Maichon was bumped to fifth, which comes with a full KFT card and now an exemption into final stage of PGA Tour Q-School this December. LSU's Algot Kleen moves to No. 10, now receiving full KFT membership in addition to his exemption into second stage of Q-School. Ole Miss' Kye Meeks goes from nothing to No. 25 and full PGA Tour Americas status. Auburn's Brendan Valdes, Florida's Ian Gilligan, Vanderbilt's Jackson Van Paris, Arizona State's Preston Summerhays, Louisville's Sebastian Moss and UCLA teammates Omar Morales and Pablo Ereno are the other newly minted KFT members from this PGA Tour U class. North Carolina's David Ford won the PGA Tour U points list this season – Ballester was in the running for this until Ford won three straight events in the spring – to earn his PGA Tour card for the next season and a half. He made his pro debut two weeks ago at Colonial and will join Gordon Sargent and Luke Clanton, two PGA Tour U Accelerated achievers, in this week's field at the RBC Canadian Open. Auburn's Jackson Koivun also has earned 20 points through Accelerated, though he's returning for his junior year.
