Stanford’s Karl Vilips, No. 14 in PGA TOUR University Ranking, on the rise after NCAA Championship’s opening round
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Karl Vilips hitting an approach shot on hole 10 at The Goodwin at TPC Harding Park on March 28, 2024 in San Francisco, California. (Stanford Men's Golf)
Written by Staff, PGATOUR.COM
CARLSBAD, California – Only a dozen players broke par Friday at Omni La Costa’s North Course, and the majority of those who accomplished the feat in the opening round of the NCAA Championship significantly improved their projected finish in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking.
In a tie for third, Stanford University senior Karl Vilips opened with a bogey-free 3-under 69, leaving him one stroke behind Ohio State University’s Adam Wallin in solo second, and two strokes behind the outright leader, Georgia Tech sophomore Hiroshi Tai. Vilips, who entered the week ranked No. 14, projects to move into the top 10 and take over the No. 7 spot.
Mats Ege, a redshirt senior for East Tennessee State University, carded a 1-under 71 and finished the day in a five-way tie for eighth place. Ege entered the week ranked No. 11, but cracked the top 10 and moved up to No. 9 in the updated projection following Friday’s first round.
With a 2-under 70, Baylor University redshirt senior John Keefer ended the evening in a three-way tie for fifth. Keefer entered the week ranked No. 29, and moved into the projected top 25 (No. 22) with his strong opening round.
Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht, who entered the week ranked No. 2, can only pass top-ranked Michael Thorbjornsen of Stanford with a win, plus a finish outside the top 10 for Thorbjornsen. Lamprecht opened in 2-under 70, bouncing back from a double bogey at the par-3 12th, his third hole of the day, with five birdies and joined Keefer in the three-way T5. Thorbjornsen battled to a 2-over 74 (and T41 on the leaderboard), which included three bogeys and a double bogey at the par-5 10th.
PGA TOUR University Ranking Projections
| Projected rank | Current rank | Player (college) | NCAA Championship |
| 1 | 1 | Michael Thorbjornsen (Stanford University) | T41 |
| No. 1 earns PGA TOUR membership | |||
| 2 | 2 | Christo Lamprecht (Georgia Tech) | T5 |
| 3 | 3 | Austin Greaser (University of North Carolina) | T81 |
| 4 | 4 | Matthew Riedel (Vanderbilt University) | T41 |
| 5 | 5 | Nicholas Gabrelcik (University of North Florida) | T41 |
| Nos. 2-5 earn fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership | |||
| 6 | 6 | William Moll (Vanderbilt University) | T97 |
| 7 | 14 | Karl Vilips (Stanford University) | T3 |
| 8 | 8 | Cole Sherwood (Vanderbilt University) | T63 |
| 9 | 11 | Mats Ege (East Tennessee State University) | T8 |
| 10 | 9 | Gustav Frimodt (Texas Christian University) | -- |
| Nos. 6-10 earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour status, fully exempt PGA TOUR Americas membership | |||
| 11 | 7 | Frederik Kjettrup (Florida State University) | T148 |
| 12 | 10 | Michael Brennan (Wake Forest University) | T13 |
| 13 | 12 | Sampson-Yunhe Zheng (University of California-Berkeley) | T13 |
| 14 | 13 | Ben Lorenz (University of Oklahoma) | T112 |
| 15 | 16 | Herman Wibe Sekne (Purdue University) | T25 |
| 16 | 15 | Jonas Baumgartner (Oklahoma State University) | T81 |
| 17 | 19 | Ryggs Johnston (Arizona State University) | -- |
| 18 | 20 | Canon Claycomb (University of Alabama) | -- |
| 19 | 17 | Dylan Menante (University of North Carolina) | T112 |
| 20 | 18 | Maxwell Moldovan (Ohio State University) | T63 |
| 21 | 21 | Petr Hruby (University of Washington) | -- |
| 22 | 29 | John Keefer (Baylor University) | T5 |
| 23 | 23 | Santiago De la Fuente del Valle (University of Houston) | -- |
| 24 | 22 | Bryce Lewis (University of Tennessee) | T112 |
| 25 | 24 | John Marshall Butler (Auburn University) | T41 |
| Nos. 11-25 earn fully exempt PGA TOUR Americas membership | |||