The path for elite men’s college golfers to get to the PGA Tour is being upgraded.
PGA Tour University announced Wednesday enhanced performance benefits to the top college seniors before the start of the 2022-23 season.
Entering its third year, PGA Tour U will increase the number of graduates who earn tour membership. It also reaffirmed those players will receive exemptions into a new PGA Tour Q-School, and it will also be more advantageous for players who take PGA Tour exemptions the summer after graduation.
There are now 20 total graduating spots, up from 15 in the first two years. The grads will also be split into three groups, earning benefits based on their final position in the standings.
The first team, which is spots 1-5, will be exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour for its current season and exempt on an international tour the following season. For the second team, spots 6-10, they also earn conditional KFT cards. They will play out of the PGA Tour U category and get into tournaments through one of those allotted slots if any of the top players decide not to play. The sixth in the rankings would have first priority, and so on. The players could also earn more status through the points list. Nos. 6-10 are also exempt for that summer’s Canada season and the following Latinoamerica season. The third team, the remaining 10, receive full Canada status for the current season and full Latinoamerica status the following season.
There are also changes coming to PGA Tour Q school, where Nos. 1-5 will be exempt into the final stage of Q school. Nos. 6-20 will be exempt into the second stage.
Additionally, the top-20 finishers will compete against each other for future eligibility. The three players with the highest combined point total in events played on the then-current PGA Tour and KFT seasons will be exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour for the following season.
Florida’s Fred Biondi is the top-ranked player in the PGA Tour U rankings to begin the season. Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg is second, Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett, the US Amateur champion, is third, with North Carolina’s Austin Greaser and Texas’ Travis Vick rounding out the top five.
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Story originally appeared on GolfWeek