Two of the nation’s top-ranked collegiate golfers – Sam Bennett of Texas A&M and Oklahoma State’s Eugenio Chacarra – announced this week that they will return to school for the 2022-23 academic year rather than turn pro. Both players, ranked in the top five of the PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global, are bypassing potential Korn Ferry Tour status this summer to gain another year of collegiate experience.

“It was a pretty tough decision. Growing up on a nine-hole golf course in Madisonville, Texas, I never thought I would have to make a decision whether to graduate or take my game to the next level,” Bennett, ranked No. 2 in the Velocity Global Ranking, told PGATOUR.COM about his decision to return for a fifth season. “After talking to Coach (Brian) Kortan, I decided I wanted to stay and graduate. That’s what I came here to do.”

Bennett said Kortan, his head coach at A&M, was the only person he sought advice from with the exception of his brothers, Marcus and Jake, who agreed with his decision to stay in school. Kortan has been a mentor to Bennett since his father Mark passed away during Sam’s junior season after a seven-year battle with Alzheimer’s.

“Kortan has taken over the father role in my life. If my dad were still here, he would want me to graduate. He would be happy with the decision of me staying, trying to mature more, and growing in my life off the golf course,” Bennett said.

Chacarra, ranked third in PGA TOUR University, announced Wednesday that he is returning to Oklahoma State University next season. It will be his third and final season as a Cowboy after transferring from Wake Forest following a COVID-19 shortened sophomore year. Chacarra, the 2019 ACC Freshman of the Year at Wake Forest, became the 23rd All-American under Oklahoma State head coach Alan Bratton after standout performances such as his T8 finish at the 2021 NCAA D1 Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona.

His two collegiate wins, at the Amer Ari Invitational and National Invitational Tournament, have both come this year. Oklahoma State has won three events as a unit so far this season and ranks No. 2 on Golfstat rankings.

It was not an easy decision for Chacarra, who has finished in the top 10 in seven of 10 stroke play events this year for OSU, but he promised his mother that he would complete his studies. Chacarra will graduate with a degree in finance and a minor in psychology. His parents instilled the importance of education, and he views earning his degree as an advantage over other players when he starts on the PGA TOUR.

“I am convinced that an additional year of hard work in Stillwater will allow me to continue to grow academically and personally, which will only prepare me better for the PGA TOUR and my professional career. That said, I look forward to teeing it up for the ‘Pokes again next season,” Chacarra said on Twitter.

Chacarra also values playing four years of collegiate golf and is excited about an additional opportunity to win a national championship for Oklahoma State.

“The PGA TOUR will still be there when I’m ready. You can only play four years of college and I did not play during the COVID-19 year. I don’t know if you saw Jon Rahm’s interview at the Masters last week, but he was talking about playing four years of college golf and how much better that made him. I feel like it will also help me develop as a person and player,” Chacarra told PGATOUR.COM.

Bennett, a three-sport star athlete in high school, created an instant buzz in College Station and made the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2019 after posting 18 rounds of par or better. As a sophomore, he earned All-SEC honors finishing the year with four top-20 results. During his junior year, Bennett took his game to another notch, winning three collegiate tournament and qualified for the Arnold Palmer Cup. His stellar play in 2021 saw him a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award. Bennett’s senior year has achieved the same consistent success with a victory at the 2021 Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship and an individual win for Texas A&M at the Louisiana Classics. What does Bennett have left to prove at this level in the game?

“I’ve played in three professional events and didn’t sniff making the cut at two PGA TOUR tournaments. It’s different out there and I know what I need to get better at,” Bennett said. “I wouldn’t say there is an aspect of my game that has a weakness but staying in school for another year gives me more time to work on my consistency and create more experience to play on the PGA TOUR or Korn Ferry Tour as an amateur this summer and next year,” said Bennett who expects to receive sponsor exemptions on both tours.

It's not only experience that Bennett is looking to gain out of another year in college. He looks to use 2022-23 as time to get physically stronger and bring Texas A&M to the next level as a program. Texas A&M has only appeared in one national championship in the last three years, which is short of expectation for one of the largest universities in the United States.

“There is a lot of unfinished business. I want to win a conference ring for my team and a national championship, of course,” said Bennett, who will represent the U.S. at the Arnold Palmer Cup in Switzerland in July.

Because players can finish in the final top-15 of the Velocity Global Ranking only one time, they may opt out of the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022 if they intend to return to school and take their extra year of eligibility (granted by the NCAA due to COVID-19). The decisions for Bennett and Chacarra come during the opt-out period, which closes April 15. They will be eligible for PGA TOUR University next season and their record will include tournaments during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

Benefits to players ranked inside the top five of the PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global after the 2022 spring season:

• Korn Ferry Tour membership and exemptions into all open, full-field events beginning the week following the conclusion of the NCAA Division-I National Championship through the end of the regular Korn Ferry Tour season.

• Exemption into Final Stage of the current Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament

• Exemption onto a PGA TOUR international tour the following year

Since Bennett and Chacarra are ranked inside the top five of the PGA TOUR University, they were en route to earning Korn Ferry Tour status that would kick start their professional careers. Clemson’s Jacob Bridgeman and Texas’ Cole Hammer were Nos. 6 and 7 in the Velocity Global Ranking this week.

Chacarra, who made the cut and finished T45 at the Sanderson Farms Championship earlier this season, stated that being highly ranked in PGA TOUR University with only four events left this season made the decision “very tempting.” Unlike Bennett, Chacarra’s performance in PGA TOUR events as an amateur had little impact on his decision.

“I was not the same player. I was putting totally different. Now that I switched to the broomstick putting style, I have fun and enjoy being out there. I don’t have as much pressure on my long game anymore,” said Chacarra, who switched to a broomstick putter after consulting PGA TOUR member Aaron Wise last fall. “I know my game itself is ready. I practice with Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff, and Talor Gooch since they are here year-round. I also practice with Sergio Garcia. I know my game as well as they know theirs. Eventually, I will be there. I’ll probably be the No. 1 amateur in the world next year and will be top-five on the PGA TOUR U rankings again. I trust that my decision to come back to OSU for another year is the right one.”