They did little to nothing on the PGA Tour in 2024, but 30 players from the developmental Korn Ferry Tour booked their tee times for the big tour’s 2025 season.
Ahead of the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Championship, 17 of those cards were already secured, while another five were not yet official but basically locked up. If you’re counting, this meant 53 players in the field, not yet Tour-Bound, at the French Lick Golf Resort in Indiana were vying for eight PGA Tour cards.
One of the lucky eight was Braden Thornberry, who claimed the season finale title with a birdie on the Pete Dye Course’s 72nd hole to post a bogey-free 6-under 66, good for a one-stroke victory.
Thornberry, who entered the week at No. 51 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, was the only player outside the top 30 who moved into the final top 30. Thornberry’s victory unfortunately bumped Sam Bennett out of the top 30, as the 24-year-old Texan began the week at No. 30 on the list.
Thornberry will be among 23 rookies on tour next season, headlined by Matt McCarty, who became the first player since 2021 to earn the Three-Victory Promotion, clinching the No. 1 spot on the points list at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. By virtue of finishing atop the KFT points list, McCarty earned exemptions into the 2025 Players Championship and 2025 U.S. Open, in addition to being fully exempt for the 2025 PGA Tour campaign, including the FedExCup Fall series.
Joining Thornberry and McCarty at the 2025 Sony Open – the season’s first full-field event, will be another rookie in Aldrich Potgieter, who became the second-youngest KFT graduate in history (20 years and 23 days), trailing only Jason Day (19 years, 11 months, and 23 days) in 2007.
Some key numbers to know about the Korn Ferry Tour Class of 2024:
23 – Players who will be PGA Tour rookies for the 2025 season: Mason Andersen, Frankie Capan III, Ricky Castillo, Quade Cummins, Cristobal Del Solar, Taylor Dickson, Steven Fisk, Noah Goodwin, Matt McCarty, William Mouw, Kaito Onishi, John Pak, Jeremy Paul, Paul Peterson, Aldrich Pogtieter, Thomas Rosenmueller, Isaiah Salinda, Jackson Suber, Braden Thornberry, Kevin Velo, Karl Vilips, Danny Walker, and Tim Widing.
8 – Countries and territories represented: Australia, Chile, Germany, Japan, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and United States.
7 – Players making a return to the big show: – Max McGreevy, Brian Campbell, Harry Higgs, Ryan Gerard, Kevin Roy, Kris Ventura, and Trevor Cone.
2024 #KornFerryTour Finals Card Ceremony.
Meet the 30 new @PGATOUR members ⬇️ https://t.co/Ns8cCDd4bZ
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) October 6, 2024
