PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking To Be Finalized at NCAA Championship
4 Min Read
Written by Chris Richards
At this week’s NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona, 30 teams and six individuals will compete for a national title, and college golf’s top seniors will compete for a top-15 finish in the PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking.
The stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship is the final tournament for the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022, and the Velocity Global Ranking will be finalized after the final round on Monday, May 30. Players finishing 1st through 5th will earn membership on Korn Ferry Tour and players finishing 6th through 15th will earn membership on a PGA TOUR international tour.
For players in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022, the NCAA Championship points distribution is based on a WAGR Power of 1000. Additionally, players in the current season Velocity Global Ranking will receive bonus points if they finish in the top 10 of the final stroke-play leaderboard, with the champion earning 15 bonus points. With these provisions, a current-year player will earn 40 points if he wins the individual NCAA Championship.
Since returning to the Texas lineup after breaking his right arm, Pierceson Coody has one win and four top-20 finishes, and he has been No. 1 in the Velocity Global Ranking the last six weeks. Second-ranked Logan McAllister has 10 top-10s and two wins on his PGA TOUR University record, and he will lead the No. 1-ranked Sooners back to Grayhawk Golf Club after finishing runner-up to Pepperdine last season.
With less than two points separating No. 4 Trent Phillips (Georgia) and No. 6 RJ Manke (Washington), the projected top-five players will likely change throughout the NCAA Championship. Similarly, there are 11 players ranked 16th-34th who are still in contention for a top-15 finish. A detailed overview of the top-five and top-15 contenders can be found below.
TOP-5 – PLAYERS IN CONTENTION
Pierceson Coody is guaranteed to finish no worse than No. 2.
• Logan McAllister is the only other player who can finish No. 1.
Logan McAllister and Jacob Bridgeman are likely to finish in the top-five.
• McAllister’s minimum final average is 1091.
• Bridgeman’s average (1115.87) is locked because he did not qualify for the NCAA Championship.
• For Bridgeman and/or McAllister to drop out of the top-five, at least three players ranked 4th-13th in the Velocity Global Ranking would need to finish 1st-4th at the NCAA Championship, and only some of these combinations would create this outcome.
Using a target average of 1061 (would be No. 5 in the current Ranking), the eight players ranked 4th-13th who qualified for the NCAA Championship are in contention for a top-five finish.
| Rank | Player | University | Average | Events | Finish for 1061+ Avg | Final Avg Range (Min-Max) |
| 1 | Pierceson Coody | Texas | 1254.99 | 18 | 156th | 1214-1399 |
| 2 | Logan McAllister | Oklahoma | 1120.29 | 21 | 156th | 1091-1251 |
| 3 | Jacob Bridgeman* | Clemson | 1115.87 | 20 | - | - |
| 4 | Trent Phillips | Georgia | 1061.27 | 20 | T13 (2-way) | 1033-1201 |
| 5 | Cole Hammer | Texas | 1060.55 | 26 | Solo 14th | 1039-1169 |
| 6 | RJ Manke | Washington | 1059.85 | 20 | Solo 13th | 1032-1200 |
| 7 | Alex Fitzpatrick | Wake Forest | 1042.69 | 19 | Solo 9th | 1014-1191 |
| 8 | Jackson Suber | Ole Miss | 1021.59 | 19 | Solo 6th | 994-1171 |
| 9 | Joe Highsmith | Pepperdine | 1012.79 | 24 | Solo 4th | 991-1132 |
| 10 | Chris Gotterup | Oklahoma | 1002.03 | 19 | Solo 4th | 976-1152 |
| 13 | Aman Gupta | Oklahoma State | 929.91 | 17 | Win | 905-1100 |
*Did not qualify for NCAA Championship
TOP-15 – PLAYERS IN CONTENTION
Using a target average of 889 (would be No. 15 in the current Ranking), there are 11 players ranked 16th-34th who are still in contention for a top-15 finish.
| Rank | Player | University | Average | Events | Finish for 889+ Avg | Final Avg Range (Min-Max) |
| 11 | Ryan Hall* | South Carolina | 993.93 | 22 | - | - |
| 12 | Noah Goodwin* | SMU | 980.23 | 20 | - | - |
| 13 | Aman Gupta | Oklahoma State | 929.91 | 17 | 156th | 905-1100 |
| 14 | Sam Choi* | New Mexico | 889.86 | 21 | - | - |
| 15 | Joey Vrzich | Pepperdine | 888.71 | 20 | T22 (2-way) | 869-1037 |
| 16 | Albin Bergstrom | South Florida | 883.55 | 21 | Solo 16th | 865-1025 |
| 17 | Cameron Sisk | Arizona State | 880.01 | 24 | T11 (2-way) | 864-1005 |
| 18 | Walker Lee | Texas A&M | 871.84 | 20 | Solo 10th | 853-1021 |
| 19 | Kieran Vincent | Liberty | 844.62 | 20 | T6 (2-way) | 827-995 |
| 20 | Mason Andersen | Arizona State | 842.29 | 21 | Solo 6th | 826-986 |
| 21 | Ryan Gerard | North Carolina | 838.69 | 21 | T5 (2-way) | 822-982 |
| 24 | Christian Banke | Arizona | 835.42 | 17 | T6 (2-way) | 815-1011 |
| 25 | Carson Lundell | BYU | 831.13 | 24 | Solo 4th | 817-958 |
| 26 | Parker Coody | Texas | 824.33 | 18 | Solo 5th | 806-991 |
| 31 | Luke Long | Arkansas | 762.25 | 17 | Win | 746-942 |
| 34 | Henry Shimp | Stanford | 743.68 | 17 | Win | 729-925 |
*Did not qualify for NCAA Championship
Notes:
• Eligible players must play in the NCAA Championship if they qualify and are selected to compete.
• At the NCAA Championship, players who make the 54-hole cut receive points for 1st through 84th place, and players who miss the cut receive points for 85th through 156th place (in order of 54-hole score).
• In the tables above, the “Final Average Range” is calculated with a 156th-place finish (minimum) and a 1st-place finish (maximum).
• Projections will be updated at the end of each round of the NCAA Championship.
The Velocity Global Ranking is designed to identify the best college golfers based on winning, competitiveness and season-long performance. It is developed in partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking®, which ranks the top amateur golfers on the basis of their average performance in counting events, and it includes the final two years of competition in NCAA Division-I men’s golf tournaments (stroke play), official PGA TOUR tournaments and select DP World Tour events.
The Velocity Global Ranking is updated weekly on Wednesdays and announced on GOLF Channel’s Golf Today, and it will be finalized May 30, 2022, following the conclusion of stroke play at the NCAA D-I Men’s National Championship. The top five finishers will earn membership on Korn Ferry Tour and players finishing 6th through 15th will earn membership on a PGA TOUR international tour.
