New year, new PGA Tour University benefits.
Since the program’s inception, PGA Tour U has constantly updated its criteria to provide the top amateurs with a direct pathway to the PGA Tour, and on Thursday the PGA Tour again announced changes to the program that provide more points through the Accelerated pathway as well as more Korn Ferry Tour access each year.
Starting in 2025, Accelerated will now offer more points for the following:
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Lifetime 26 weeks as No. 1 in WAGR: 1 point
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Lifetime 52 weeks as No. 1 in WAGR : 1 point
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Top-5 in an official PGA Tour event or select DP World Tour events: 1 point
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Top-10 and ties at Division I NCAA Championship: 1 point
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Jones Cup winner: 1 point
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Northeast Amateur winner: 1 point
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Southern Amateur winner: 1 point
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African Amateur winner: 1 point (previously 2 points)
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Asia-Pacific Amateur winner: 1 point (previously 2 points)
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D-I NCAA individual champion: 2 points (previously 3 points)
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European Amateur winner: 1 point (previously 2 points)
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Latin America Amateur winner: 1 point (previously 2 points)
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The Amateur winner: 2 points (previously 3 points)
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U.S. Amateur winner: 2 points (previously 3 points)
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Western Amateur winner: 1 point (previously 2 points)
Previously, players weren’t awarded points for weeks spent at No. 1, only points for their highest WAGR ranking. Additionally, a top-5 finish in a PGA Tour event will award an additional point on top of a top-10 finish.
Accelerated points will not be awarded retroactively, meaning Florida State junior Luke Clanton and Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun will remain at 17 points. Players need to reach 20 to earn a PGA Tour card. Gordon Sargent is the lone player to earn a card via Accelerated.
Clanton, for example, would be at 20 points simply based on his three top-five finishes in PGA Tour events in 2024 if points were awarded retroactively. However, he has virtually locked up the Ben Hogan Award, given to the player who was most outstanding in college, amateur and pro events over a year, and winning the Hogan awards three points.
Additionally, the top-10 seniors in the PGA Tour U rankings after the national championship will earn fully exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour. Previously, only the top five earned full status while Nos. 6-10 were conditional members. The top-five players in combined points earned between the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour their first season after graduation will also keep their KFT status, up from three.
Lastly, if the runner-up in PGA Tour U finished with more than 1,300 points, he will also earn a PGA Tour card and status equal to the No. 1 player. This will start in 2026. No runner-up has reached the 1,300-point mark in PGA Tour U since it launched in 2021.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour U increases Accelerated point values, grows KFT access
