Cómo funciona

The Korn Ferry Tour is the premier pathway to the PGA TOUR, with 20 cards awarded via the season-long standings.

The Korn Ferry Tour was established in 1990, with five TOUR cards awarded via the season-long standings. The current number – 20 PGA TOUR cards – was introduced ahead of the 2025 season.

The circuit has stood the test of time as a dynamic proving ground for the game’s highest level, with alumni including Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele and many more.

Tiger Woods, 82-time TOUR winner, never competed on the Korn Ferry Tour but has seen its impact firsthand.

“I think that going through a whole season hardens the guys and teaches them the whole lifestyle of traveling, which is so different than college, and doing it for a year-long period,” Woods said. “I think it teaches the guys how to be more aggressive, and when they come out here and they have to play our TOUR, all of a sudden they’re ready to make birdies. They’re ready to play aggressively, and take on flags, and take on the challenges. It sets them up for … a higher success rate.”

The season culminates at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by Virginia’s Richmond Region, with 20 PGA TOUR cards awarded at week's end.

Korn Ferry Tour Points List

The Korn Ferry Tour Points List determines the 20 players who earn PGA TOUR membership for the following season and the next level of players who retain full Korn Ferry Tour status for the following season (Nos. 21-60).

Korn Ferry Tour regular season events utilize a standardized tie table with 500 points allocated to the winner, 300 points allocated to a solo runner-up, and so on. If multiple players tie at a certain position, those points are added together and divided accordingly. (Ex. If six players tie for sixth in an event, the totals of finishers 6-11 are added together and divided by six, with the same points distribution to each player.)

Players who make the cut at an event will receive Korn Ferry Tour points for that finish.

Korn Ferry Tour Finals events use a standardized tie table with 600 points allocated to the winner, 330 points allocated to a solo runner-up, and so on. If multiple players tie at a certain position, those points are added together and divided accordingly.

Korn Ferry Tour Finals

The four-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals brings the season-long points race to a dramatic close, as 20 PGA TOUR cards are finalized after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance.

The top 156 players gain access to the first Korn Ferry Tour Finals event, with field reductions after each event based on the cumulative Points List.

156 players: Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation
132 players: Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship
100 players: Compliance Solutions Championship
60 players: Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by Virginia’s Richmond Region

Priority Ranking

The Priority Ranking is the foundation of how each week's field is comprised.

At the beginning of each Korn Ferry Tour season, a new Priority Ranking is devised. Players on the Priority Ranking either have full status or conditional status. Players with full status can enter any Korn Ferry Tour event prior to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, regardless of their standing on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List. (Korn Ferry Tour Finals fields are determined via the Korn Ferry Tour Points List.) The Priority Ranking determines which conditional members gain access to each tournament field (in addition to open qualifiers and sponsor exemptions).

The Priority Ranking determines which conditional members gain access to each tournament field (in addition to Monday qualifers and sponsor exemptions).

Reshuffle

Upon each periodic reshuffle, Korn Ferry Tour members with conditional status are sorted into a category based on their position on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List. The more points accrued at the time of the reshuffle, the higher one’s position on the Korn Ferry Tour Priority Ranking within the reshuffle interval. Players with full status are not included in the reshuffle category, and some players with conditional status are exempt from reshuffles to begin the season via performance benefits earned through PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, PGA TOUR Americas or PGA TOUR University.

Who earns TOUR membership?

Effective with the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, the top 20 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List will earn PGA TOUR membership for the following season.

Players who earn TOUR membership via the Korn Ferry Tour category will earn spots in a ‘Korn Ferry Tour graduates’ category on the TOUR Priority Ranking.

The player who finishes No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List earns exemptions for the following year’s PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open.

Players to finish No. 1 in recent years include Matt McCarty (2024), Ben Kohles (2023), Justin Suh (2022), Stephan Jaeger (2020-21), Scottie Scheffler (2019) and Sungjae Im (2018).

Three-Victory Promotion

Winning three times on the Korn Ferry Tour within one season provides automatic TOUR membership, effective the following week. Perhaps the most famous example came in 2005, when Jason Gore won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour within a month – then won on the PGA TOUR that fall. His Korn Ferry Tour torrent came shortly after he played in the final group of the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. Nineteen years later, Matt McCarty followed Gore's lead, winning the TOUR's 2024 Bank of Utah Championship less than two months after earning a Three-Victory Promotion.

There have been 13 Three-Victory Promotions in Korn Ferry Tour history. The most recent player to earn a Three-Victory Promotion was McCarty in 2024.

Open qualifying

Most Korn Ferry Tour events offer eight spots via an 18-hole qualifying event, which typically occurs on Monday of tournament week and is often contested across two courses pending field size. If there is a tie for qualifying spots, a sudden-death playoff will determine which players advance into the tournament field.

Through the 2024 season, there have been 24 open qualifiers to win on the Korn Ferry Tour, most recently Spencer Levin at the 2023 Veritex Bank Championship.

Korn Ferry Tour Finals events do not offer open qualifying.