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Aug 30, 2022

10 players on verge of PGA TOUR card heading into Korn Ferry Tour Championship

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COLUMBUS, OHIO - AUGUST 25: Thomas Detry of Belgium follows his shot from the second tee during the first round of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship at OSU GC - Scarlet Course on August 25, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

COLUMBUS, OHIO - AUGUST 25: Thomas Detry of Belgium follows his shot from the second tee during the first round of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship at OSU GC - Scarlet Course on August 25, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

    Written by Kevin Prise
    Thomas Detry makes birdie on No. 16 at Albertsons Boise Open

    Thomas Detry makes birdie on No. 16 at Albertsons Boise Open


    NEWBURGH, Ind. – One event remains on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour calendar, and 17 PGA TOUR cards are yet to be determined.

    Through the first two of three Korn Ferry Tour Finals events, eight players have crossed the fail-safe threshold (210 points) to secure a spot in The Finals 25.

    Here’s a look at who secured a TOUR card at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron.

    Here’s a look at who secured a TOUR card at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.

    Victoria National GC will provide the backdrop for this week’s inherent drama, as a mix of rising stars and veteran pros chase their TOUR dreams at this week’s Finals-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance.

    Here’s a look at 10 players on the verge of their first PGA TOUR card, who could secure #TOURBound status this week in southern Indiana.

    Thomas Detry

    The Belgium native played collegiately at Illinois and turned professional in 2016. He has been a consistent presence on the DP World Tour, notching four career runner-up finishes.

    Detry, 29, gained Korn Ferry Tour Finals access via non-member FedExCup points, finishing top-35 in all five of his TOUR appearances in 2021-22. Now he’s on the verge of a TOUR card, earning 200 Korn Ferry Tour points with a T4 in Boise.

    Detry missed the cut in Columbus but enters the week in a tie for 10th on The Finals 25. With a top-60 finish at Victoria National, he’ll cross the threshold to secure his first TOUR card.

    Matti Schmid

    The Germany native was a highly accomplished junior player, winner of the 2019 and 2020 European Amateur, and turned pro in summer 2021 after a successful collegiate career at Louisville. He was DP World Tour Rookie of the Year in 2021 and gained access to the TOUR’s Barbasol Championship (T8) and Barracuda Championship (38th) this summer, just enough to gain Finals entry via non-member FedExCup points.

    Schmid followed a T37 in Boise with back-to-back weekend 67s in Columbus for a T9 finish. He made the cut on the number in both appearances, and he’s now on the verge of a TOUR card. With 166.769 points, he would cross the fail-safe threshold with a top-34 at Victoria National.

    Kyle Westmoreland

    Westmoreland, 30, spent five-and-a-half years on active duty in the Air Force before returning to civilian life in 2019 and commencing the pursuit of a career in professional golf. He found some success on the Monday qualifier circuit – also qualifying for the 2021 U.S. Open and making the cut – before earning 2022 Korn Ferry Tour membership via Q-School last fall.

    After missing the cut in Boise, Westmoreland rallied with a T9 last week in Columbus to earn 140 points on The Finals 25 standings.

    With a top-25 at Victoria National, he’ll cross the fail-safe threshold to secure his first PGA TOUR card.

    Norman Xiong

    Upon turning professional from the University of Oregon, the 2018 Haskins Award winner was pegged a can’t-miss prospect. He struggled as a Korn Ferry Tour rookie in 2019, though, losing his card and becoming relegated to the uncertain world of mini-tours and Monday qualifiers.

    Xiong’s breakthrough came at this year’s Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics; he Monday qualified into the event and carded 26 under for a five-stroke victory. That gained him Finals access, and after finishes of T50-T14 in Boise and Columbus respectively, the Guam native who grew up in southern California is on the verge of his first TOUR card.

    Xiong has accrued 114.5 points in the Finals, and a two-way T18 or better would cement his spot in The Finals 25.

    Hurly Long

    The Germany native saw quick success on the Challenge Tour upon turning pro in 2019, winning the Challenge Tour’s 2020 Italian Challenge Open, and he has recorded a pair of top-three finishes this season on the DP World Tour.

    The Texas Tech alum gained Finals entry on the strength of back-to-back top-seven finishes at the Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship. Long, 27, rebounded from a missed cut in Boise with a T14 at last week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.

    He has accrued 100 points so far in the Finals, and a top-15 in Indiana would cement his first TOUR card.

    Carson Young

    The soft-spoken Clemson alum finished T29 at Final Stage of Q-School last fall to earn guaranteed Korn Ferry Tour starts, and he took advantage quickly with a win at The Panama Championship in February. Young went without another top-10 across the remainder of the Regular Season, though, and ultimately fell short of a spot in The 25.

    The South Carolina native is looking to make amends in the Finals, which he opened with a T18 in Boise to accrue 84.125 points. He missed the cut last week in Columbus, but he’s still positioned to earn his first TOUR card with a strong week at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. With a top-12 finish, he would cross the fail-safe threshold to secure his TOUR dream.

    Brent Grant

    The son of a career United States Navy officer, Grant spent time in various locales throughout childhood but has found a home on the Korn Ferry Tour across the last three years. He’s now aiming to make the PGA TOUR his new home on the road.

    Grant won the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation in May to move to the verge of a TOUR card, but he struggled to six missed cuts in the final seven Regular Season events and fell just short of a spot in The 25.

    Grant, 26, has rebounded with back-to-back made cuts to begin the Finals – T32 and T34 respectively – and holds 77.6 points across two Finals events. With a two-way T11 or better, he would cross the fail-safe threshold to cement a spot in The Finals 25.

    David Kocher

    The Maryland alum displayed a never-say-die attitude during the Korn Ferry Tour’s summer stretch, and it paid off with a victory at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper in July. The win propelled him from outside the top 100 on the Eligibility Points List to a Finals berth, and he rallied from a missed cut in Boise with a T22 at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.

    Kocher, who played on PGA TOUR China before earning Korn Ferry Tour membership in 2020, holds 73 points through two Finals events. With a top-11 finish at Victoria National, he would cross the fail-safe threshold to cement his first TOUR card via The Finals 25.

    Pierceson Coody

    The University of Texas alum earned Korn Ferry Tour membership via the No. 1 spot on the PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking, and he took quick advantage with a win at the Live and Work in Maine Open to cement his first Finals berth.

    Coody, grandson of 1971 Masters winner Charles Coody, finished T32 in Boise before a missed cut at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He holds 44.6 points through two Finals events, and a top-eight finish would assure his first TOUR card via The Finals 25.

    Eric Cole

    The Florida resident has been around golf from birth; his mom Laura Baugh spent 25 seasons on the LPGA, and his dad Bobby Cole won the TOUR’s 1977 Buick Open. Now Cole is building a legacy of his own. The 34-year-old recorded seven top-25s on the Korn Ferry Tour this season to earn his first Finals berth, and he has gone T56-T34 in the first two Finals events to hold a good position into the finale.

    Cole has developed a reputation as a mini-tour legend, with 50-plus wins on the Minor League Golf Tour, and now he aims to take his talents to the game’s highest level. He holds 44 points through two Finals events, and a top-eight finish at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship would cement his first TOUR card.

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