NEWBURGH, Ind. – Brent Grant brings the energy on the golf course. He assures an experience of “making birdies, fist pumping and doing the whole nine” for fans who watch him compete, and his playing style confirms those sentiments.

Grant, though, needed to reign in his prodigious distance in order to maximize his potential. He led the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour in driving distance (324.1 yards), but he fell short of a PGA TOUR card. He finished No. 63 on the Regular Season Points List and No. 43 on The Finals 25.

“I led in distance out here, which was cool, but it didn’t gain me anything,” Grant said. “It sucks to say, but it’s part of the maturation process.”

This week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance could prove a crucial part of that maturation process. Grant, 26, opted to adjust his game plan from previous years at Victoria National GC; this year, he’s laying back more off the tee rather than pushing the ball as far as possible down the fairway.

So far, so good. Grant opened in 6-under 66, two off the early lead at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He entered the week at No. 31 on the Finals Eligibility Points List, with a T32 at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron and a T34 at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.

Grant needs a two-way T11 or better this week to cross the fail-safe threshold (210 points) and secure his first TOUR card via The Finals 25. Based on how play unfolds across the week in southern Indiana, it might not take quite that much. If it does, though, he’s well positioned. He arrived in Indiana at No. 31 on The Finals 25 and is now projected No. 5.

“Normally I’m a man of many words, but I have to go out and take it,” said Grant after the opening round at Victoria National. “Period. End of story. There are so many different philosophies and motivational things that you can write a book about, and it’s all a waste of time. At the end of the day, you have to go out and execute.”

Grant won his first Korn Ferry Tour title at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation in May, and he held a spot in the top 25 on the Points List for the majority of the 2022 campaign. But he missed six of seven cuts to conclude the Regular Season, falling narrowly short of a TOUR card via The 25.

He retooled his game after the Regular Season-ending Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna. He flew home to Arizona, drove to California for work with his coach Tony Greco, and drove back to Arizona for a flight to Boise.

After back-to-back made cuts and a strong start in Indiana, he’s ready to chase a TOUR card across the next three days.

“Everybody watches golf for a different reason,” Grant said Thursday. “If you want to see what the future of golf looks like, you come and watch this Tour.”

Grant aims to earn a spot in Sunday afternoon’s card ceremony at Victoria National and become a part of that future.

Korn Ferry Tour Championship Bubble Watch

Here are the players projected to move inside the top 25 on the Finals Eligibility Points List after the opening round at Victoria National GC and earn a PGA TOUR card via The Finals 25.

Projected In

Brent Grant (No. 31, projected to No. 5). The Hawaii native carded an opening-round, 6-under 66 and stands T2 for the tournament. After narrowly missing his first TOUR card via the Regular Season, the 26-year-old aims to make amends in the Finals.

Eric Cole (No. 47, projected to No. 6). The 34-year-old mini-tour legend opened the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 6-under 66, one of six players in a tie for second after Thursday. Cole is the son of two professional golfers – Laura Baugh and Bobby Cole – and he’s eager to build his own legacy on TOUR.

Tano Goya (No. 62, projected to No. 7). The Argentina native, 34, played on tours all over the world before earning 2022 Korn Ferry Tour membership via Q-School last fall. Goya opened in 6-under 66 at Victoria National to join the contingent of players in a share of second place.

Patrick Fishburn (No. 26, projected to No. 10). The Utah native opened in 5-under 67 at Victoria National and stands T8 for the tournament. Fishburn, 30, is making his 68th career Korn Ferry Tour start and is in pursuit of his first TOUR card.

Carson Young (T27, projected to No. 19). The Clemson alum won The Panama Championship in February to move into good position for his first TOUR card, but uneven play down the stretch of the Regular Season left him outside The 25. After a T18 in Boise, he moved to the verge of The Finals 25. He opened in 4-under 68 at Victoria National, T16 into Friday.

Kelly Kraft (T32, projected to No. 22). The SMU alum opened the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 4-under 68, joining Young at T16 on the leaderboard.

Projected Out

Satoshi Kodaira (T18, projected to No. 31)

Sean O’Hair (T23, projected to No. 32)

Norman Xiong (No. 21, projected to No. 33)

Hurly Long (T23, projected to No. 34)

William McGirt (No. 22, projected to No. 35)

Seung-Yul Noh (T23, projected to No. 37)

Notes

Chase for top spot on The Finals 25

Michael Gligic holds the opening-round lead at 8-under 64. The Canada native crossed the fail-safe threshold for a spot in The Finals 25 with a fourth-place finish at last week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, and now he chases the top spot on the Finals Eligibility Points List. He needs a win at Victoria National to have a chance; he entered the week at No. 4 on The Finals 25 and is currently projected No. 2.

The player who earns the most points in the Finals will earn fully exempt TOUR status in 2022-23, in addition to a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship.

Will Gordon, winner of the Finals-opening Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron, is currently projected No. 1 on The Finals 25. He opened the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 6-under 66, tied for second through the opening round. He’s currently projected to 1,326.33 Finals points; Gligic is currently projected to 1,277.8 Finals points.

Paul Haley II entered the week at No. 1 on the season-long points race (The 25), 29.623 points ahead of Carl Yuan. The winner of The 25 will earn fully exempt TOUR status in 2022-23, as well THE PLAYERS and U.S. Open berths.

Haley opened the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 3-under 69 (T26), while Yuan kept the pressure on with a 6-under 66 (T2). Through the opening round in Indiana, Yuan projects as No. 1 on The 25, but Haley won’t plan to surrender the top spot without a fight. The Georgia Tech alum, who hasn’t made a TOUR start since 2013, made two consecutive closing birdies and was jovial in visiting the media center after his round.