Points and payouts: Karl Vilips captures $720,000, 300 FedExCup points at Puerto Rico Open

Dear Karl Vilips,

It’s not supposed to be that easy, but thanks!

Signed: Investors Holding Pre-Tournament Tickets Worth +7500 at FanDuel

In just his third PGA TOUR start as a member and fourth career, the 23-year-old prevailed at the Puerto Rico Open by three strokes on Sunday.

Vilips rose into the lead at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande with a 6-under 66 and then closed with an 8-under 64 to post 26-under 262. Preferred lies were in effect in every round except the third, but his new tournament scoring record is official.

The victory piggybacks his short season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024. He concluded his collegiate career at Stanford University in the spring, so he didn’t debut as a professional until mid-July. Yet, he earned his PGA TOUR card with a win and a runner-up finish among seven top 25s in that brief tenure. Then, late in the year, he suffered a back injury, ultimately was diagnosed as a bulging disc. After adequate rest, it left him as the last rookie of this year’s PGA TOUR class to make his first appearance of the season (at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld), but now he’s the only rookie with a victory. Clearly, delayed debuts have zero effect on the wunderkind.

The title yields 300 FedExCup points, $720,000 and the last spot in the field of 144 at THE PLAYERS Championship that begins on Thursday. Vilips lives in Jacksonville, Florida, so its timing is serendipitous. He’s the fourth first-time winner this season and the latest in Puerto Rico since Nico Echavarria broke through in 2023.

Additional Events like the Puerto Rico Open don’t reward exemptions into all of the remaining Signature Events, but Vilips has leveraged position in the Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5 for the RBC Heritage. The win also doesn’t grant entry into the Masters, but he’s now exempt in the PGA Championship and the 2026 edition of The Sentry. His membership also is extended in the winners category through 2027.

The low round of the finale belonged to Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson, a non-member from Denmark in his first start on the PGA TOUR. With a bogey-free, 9-under 63 that included six straight birdies to open his inward nine, he vaulted into solo second. Despite his inexperience on the circuit, the 25-year-old was sixth-shortest at just +3000. That can be attributed to a successful 2024 as the points leader on the HotelPlanner Tour and a series of strong finishes on the DP World Tour since.

Vilips’ fellow Cardinal, Joseph Bramlett (+5000), who is 36 years of age and long gone by the time the Aussie stepped foot on campus in Palo Alto, California, finished alone in third, another two shots back. It’s a career-best finish for the veteran of 159 PGA TOUR starts as a professional. This was just his second start of the season as he’s navigating 2025 with conditional status.

Thanks to the top 10s, Neergaard-Petersen, Bramlett and all others inside the bubble at Grand Reserve can make travel reservations for next week’s Valspar Championship via the exemption. The cohort includes amateur Kieron Van Wyk (+50000) of South Africa. Amateurs were not eligible for top-10 exemptions until this season.

Elsewhere...

Defending champion Brice Garnett (+4000) finished in a five-way share of 40th place. He’s now 6-for-6 on the season.

Niklas Nørgaard was shortest on the eve of the opening round at +1800. The PGA TOUR rookie from Denmark settled for a T34.

NOTE: Points and Payouts cites pre-tournament odds to win at FanDuel for all golfers who made the cut. For live odds, visit FanDuel.

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