Korn Ferry Tour Finals

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The Korn Ferry Tour Finals is a series of four golf tournaments that conclude the season on the Korn Ferry Tour. The finals are contested in a playoff format, similar to the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour, with players eliminated after each of the first three tournaments. At the end of the Finals, the top 30 players on the season-long points list earn PGA Tour membership for the following season ("Tour cards").

Contents

From 2013 to 2022, the Finals were conducted in a very different format, as a separate entity from the tour's regular season. The top 75 players from the Korn Ferry Tour, along with players who failed to make the top 125 on the PGA Tour that same season, competed in a series of three or four tournaments. The top 25 players based on points earned in the Finals alone earned PGA Tour cards for the following season. The series was established as a replacement for the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in 2013.

Tournaments

In 2023, the first year of the new format, the Finals consisted of the following four tournaments: [1]

Korn Ferry Tour Finals tournaments
TournamentLocationNumber of competitors
Albertsons Boise Open Boise, Idaho 156
Simmons Bank Open College Grove, Tennessee 144
Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship Columbus, Ohio 120
Korn Ferry Tour Championship Newburgh, Indiana 75

Each event has an enhanced purse of US$1,500,000 and awards more points than the standard Korn Ferry Tour event. The first three events feature a standard tour cut rules, while the Tour Championship does not have a cut. [1]

In 2019, 2021 and 2022, under the original format, the Finals consisted of only three tournaments, as the Simmons Bank Open was not part of the series. In 2020, the Tour Finals series was not held as the Korn Ferry Tour revised its schedule into a combined 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [2] The three tournaments that would have been part of the Finals were contested as regular-season events.

Prior to 2019, the Finals had been a series of four tournaments from its inception in 2013. [3] Three other tournaments were part of the Tour Finals for part of that period:

Qualification

The top 156 players in the Korn Ferry Tour points system through the end of the regular season qualify for the first Finals event. The number of participants is reduced each week of the Finals based on the season-long points ranking. However, in the first three Finals events, players ranked below the cutoff may be able to play if eligible players do not take part. [1]

Under the format in place from 2013 to 2022, there were four ways to qualify for the Finals: [5]

Tour cards

Under the system introduced in 2023, the top 30 players on the Tour at the conclusion of the Finals earn a PGA Tour card. The points for the regular season and Finals are combined, with the Finals events worth more points than regular-season tournaments. [1] The change in the qualifying rules for the Korn Ferry Tour were made in conjunction with new rules for the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, which awarded PGA Tour cards in 2023 for the first time in a decade. [7]

Under the previous format, the top 25 players in the Finals (originally based on earnings, later on points) earned PGA Tour cards. This was in addition to the cards earned by the top 25 players on the Korn Ferry Tour during the regular season. [8]

Players who win their third event of the season during the finals are also fully exempt on the PGA Tour. The top 75 players, those who qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, are guaranteed no worse than full Korn Ferry Tour status for the next season.

Criticism

One unintended consequence of the elimination of direct access to the PGA Tour through "Q school" was that more amateurs turned professional earlier in the year (June instead of August) in order to have a better chance at earning a PGA Tour card through high finishes via sponsors' exemptions. [9]

Winners

Tournament winners

YearAlbertsons Boise OpenSimmons Bank OpenNationwide Children's
Hospital Championship		Korn Ferry Tour
Championship
2023 Flag of the United States.svg Chan Kim Flag of the United States.svg Grayson Murray Flag of the United States.svg Norman Xiong Flag of France.svg Paul Barjon
YearAlbertsons Boise OpenNationwide Children's
Hospital Championship		Korn Ferry Tour
Championship
2022 Flag of the United States.svg Will Gordon Flag of Sweden.svg David Lingmerth Flag of the United States.svg Justin Suh
2021 Flag of the United States.svg Greyson Sigg Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Adam Svensson Flag of the United States.svg Joseph Bramlett
YearNationwide Children's
Hospital Championship		Albertsons Boise OpenKorn Ferry Tour
Championship
2019 Flag of the United States.svg Scottie Scheffler Flag of the United States.svg Matthew NeSmith Flag of England.svg Tom Lewis
YearNationwide Children's
Hospital Championship		DAP ChampionshipAlbertsons Boise OpenWeb.com Tour
Championship
2018 Flag of the United States.svg Robert Streb Flag of the United States.svg Kramer Hickok Flag of South Korea.svg Bae Sang-moon Flag of the United States.svg Denny McCarthy
YearNationwide Children's
Hospital Championship		Albertsons Boise OpenDAP ChampionshipWeb.com Tour
Championship
2017 Flag of the United States.svg Peter Uihlein Flag of the United States.svg Chesson Hadley (2/2) Flag of the United States.svg Nicholas Lindheim Flag of the United States.svg Jonathan Byrd
YearDAP ChampionshipAlbertsons Boise OpenNationwide Children's
Hospital Championship		Web.com Tour
Championship
2016 Flag of the United States.svg Bryson DeChambeau Flag of the United States.svg Michael Thompson Flag of the United States.svg Grayson Murray Canceled*
YearHotel Fitness
Championship		Small Business Connection
Championship/Chiquita Classic		Nationwide Children's
Hospital Championship		Web.com Tour
Championship
2015 Flag of Sweden.svg Henrik Norlander Flag of the United States.svg Chez Reavie Flag of the United States.svg Andrew Loupe Flag of Argentina.svg Emiliano Grillo
2014 Flag of the United States.svg Bud Cauley Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Adam Hadwin Flag of the United States.svg Justin Thomas Flag of the United States.svg Derek Fathauer
2013 Flag of South Africa.svg Trevor Immelman Flag of the United States.svg Andrew Svoboda Flag of South Korea.svg Noh Seung-yul Flag of the United States.svg Chesson Hadley (1/2)

*Tournament canceled due to Hurricane Matthew

Money/points leaders

YearRegular season
winner		Finals winnerOverall
winner
2022 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Yuan Yechun Flag of the United States.svg Justin Suh Flag of the United States.svg Justin Suh
2021 Flag of Germany.svg Stephan Jäger Flag of the United States.svg Joseph Bramlett Flag of Germany.svg Stephan Jäger
2019 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Zhang Xinjun Flag of the United States.svg Scottie Scheffler Flag of the United States.svg Scottie Scheffler
2018 Flag of South Korea.svg Im Sung-jae Flag of the United States.svg Denny McCarthy Flag of South Korea.svg Im Sung-jae
2017 Flag of the United States.svg Brice Garnett Flag of the United States.svg Chesson Hadley Flag of the United States.svg Chesson Hadley
2016 Flag of the United States.svg Wesley Bryan Flag of the United States.svg Grayson Murray Flag of the United States.svg Wesley Bryan
2015 Flag of the United States.svg Patton Kizzire Flag of the United States.svg Chez Reavie Flag of the United States.svg Patton Kizzire
2014 Flag of Mexico.svg Carlos Ortiz Flag of the United States.svg Derek Fathauer Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Adam Hadwin
2013 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Putnam Flag of the United States.svg John Peterson Flag of the United States.svg Chesson Hadley

Bolded golfers received full exemptions for the PGA Tour not subject to re-order. In 2013, golfers who led the regular season money list and the Finals money list received full exemptions. [10] Since 2014, golfers who led the overall money list and the Finals money list received full exemptions. [11] Points replaced money beginning in 2019.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "How it works: Korn Ferry Tour Finals". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  2. ↑ Korn Ferry Tour Communications (May 4, 2020). "Korn Ferry Tour announces new restart schedule and combined 2020-21 season". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on May 4, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  3. ↑ "PGA Tour announces 2019 Web.com Tour schedule". Golf Canada. September 20, 2018.
  4. ↑ Warsinskey, Tim (December 7, 2015). "Web.com Tour championship coming to Canterbury, affiliated with LeBron James charity". cleveland.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Eligibility for the 2013 Web.com Tour Finals". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Field study: Web.com Tour Finals". PGA Tour. August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  7. ↑ Schupak, Adam (January 31, 2023). "PGA Tour Q-School to be hosted in 2023 at TPC Sawgrass and neighboring Sawgrass CC". Golfweek. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Eligibility for the 2014 Web.com Tour Finals". PGA Tour. June 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ Herrington, Ryan (June 18, 2014). "Why so many top amateurs are turning pro this week – and the unintended consequence". Golf Digest.
  10. ↑ "Meet the graduates: 2013 Web.com Tour Finals top 50". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Meet The 50: Who's headed to the PGA Tour for the 2014-15 season?". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
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