PGA TOUR University on TOUR: Sam Choi finishes second in PGA TOUR Canada Fortinet Cup
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PGA TOUR Canada
Sam Choi closed his first summer as a professional with a T19 at the Fortinet Cup to finish second in the season-long standings, just 35 points behind Order of Merit winner Hayden Springer. After finishing No. 11 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2023, Choi posted seven top-10s and a victory at the Windsor Championship, and he finished with the second-best scoring average (67.45) on PGA TOUR Canada.
By finishing in the top-five, Choi earned conditional membership on Korn Ferry Tour next season, and he is exempt into Final Stage of the PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry (December 11-17).
Derek Hitchner tied for third last week, his best finish of the season, and improved 23 spots to No. 22 in the final standings. By finishing in the top 60 of the Fortinet Cup, Hitchner earned membership on the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas through the Latin America swing. Also finishing in the top 60 were John Pak (No. 8), Connor Howe (No. 20), Tommy Kuhl (No. 27), Cameron Sisk (No. 35), Chase Sienkiewicz (No. 49) and Ben Carr (No. 57).
Pak is exempt into Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School as one of the players who finished 6th-25th in the Fortinet Cup. Additionally, the 15 players who finished 6th-20th in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2023 are exempt into Second Stage.
PGA TOUR University Alumni – Fortinet Cup Standings
| Rank | Player | Points | Events | Best Finish of Season |
| 2 | Sam Choi* | 1276 | 10 | Win, Windsor Championship |
| 8 | John Pak | 708 | 10 | Win, Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open |
| 20 | Connor Howe* | 386 | 10 | T2, Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open |
| 22 | Derek Hitchner* | 380 | 8 | T3, Fortinet Cup Championship |
| 27 | Tommy Kuhl* | 335 | 10 | 3rd, Osprey Valley Open |
| 35 | Cameron Sisk | 287 | 10 | T2, Windsor Championship |
| 49 | Chase Sienkiewicz* | 221 | 10 | T5, ATB Classic |
| 57 | Ben Carr* | 162 | 7 | T6, Osprey Valley Open |
| 70 | Reid Davenport* | 124 | 9 | T13, CRMC Championship |
| 87 | Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira* | 93 | 4 | T6, Osprey Valley Open |
*Class of 2023
Korn Ferry Tour
This week’s Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation is the third-to-last event of the Korn Ferry Tour season, and 19 PGA TOUR University alumni are set to compete. Currently, five alumni are among the top 30 on the points list and in position to earn their PGA TOUR card at season’s end, while several others have an opportunity to move into the top 30.
Logan McAllister has five top-10s this season, including a playoff loss at the LECOM Suncoast Classic, and he is on the bubble at No. 31 in the standings. McAllister is followed by four other alumni in the Nos. 31-50 range: Chris Gotterup (No. 33), Mac Meissner (No. 38), Ricky Castillo (No. 45) and Joe Highsmith (No. 48).
The top 120 players on the points list will qualify for next week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio (September 21-24), and the top 75 players will qualify for the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance in Newburgh, Indiana (October 5-8).
PGA TOUR University Alumni – Korn Ferry Tour Points List
| Rank | Player | Points | Events | Best Finish of Season |
| 6 | Pierceson Coody # | 1338 | 19 | Win, Twice |
| 7 | Adrien Dumont de Chassart # * | 1133 | 8 | Win, BMW Charity Pro-Am |
| 14 | Jacob Bridgeman | 931 | 21 | 4th, Pinnacle Bank Championship |
| 17 | Parker Coody | 872 | 17 | T2, Price Cutter Charity Championship |
| 25 | Jackson Suber | 765 | 18 | 2nd, Memorial Health Championship |
| 31 | Logan McAllister | 739 | 23 | 2nd, LECOM Suncoast Classic |
| 33 | Chris Gotterup | 730 | 21 | 4th, NV5 Invitational |
| 38 | Mac Meissner | 677 | 19 | T2, The Panama Championship |
| 45 | Ricky Castillo* | 584 | 8 | Win, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Wichita Open |
| 48 | Joe Highsmith | 567 | 17 | T4, The Panama Championship |
| 51 | Trent Phillips | 500 | 17 | 2nd, UNC Health Championship |
| 59 | Quade Cummins | 421 | 22 | T6, The Ascendant presented by Blue |
| 75 | Patrick Welch* | 301 | 11 | T3, Magnit Championship |
| 97 | William Mouw* | 223 | 10 | T11, Magnit Championship |
| 111 | Michael Feagles | 185 | 20 | T15, BMW Charity Pro-Am |
| 114 | Ryan Burnett* | 173 | 9 | 6th, Price Cutter Charity Championship |
| 118 | Noah Goodwin | 167 | 21 | T4, Compliance Solutions Championship |
| 131 | RJ Manke | 126 | 18 | T16, Visit Knoxville Open |
| 154 | Yuxin Lin* | 85 | 8 | T15, Compliance Solutions Championship |
| 161 | Cole Hammer | 75 | 16 | T21, Veritex Bank Championship |
| 162 | Ross Steelman* | 73 | 8 | T25, Utah Championship |
| 175 | Ryan Hall | 47 | 3 | T16, Visit Knoxville Open |
| 188 | Fred Biondi* | 24 | 9 | T31, BMW Charity Pro-Am |
*Class of 2023 | #TOURBound
PGA TOUR
Six alumni will compete in this week’s Fortinet Championship, the first event of the FedExCup Fall. The field includes four alumni who earned PGA TOUR membership for 2022-23: Davis Thompson (FedExCup: 73rd), Austin Eckroat (74th), Kevin Yu (99th) and Trevor Werbylo (188th).
The FedExCup Fall is when top 125 eligibility, which provides exempt status into Full-Field Events and a spot in THE PLAYERS, is finalized for the following season. Those that rank 126-150 on the final FedExCup Fall Points List will have conditional status for the 2024 PGA TOUR Season. All players outside the top 125 can improve or regain TOUR status via PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
Also in the field this week are Fred Biondi and Chase Sienkiewicz, who finished 49th in the PGA TOUR Canada Fortinet Cup this season. Arizona State junior Preston Summerhays will also compete on a sponsor exemption, as he won the Sahalee Players Championship last week and helped the Sun Devils finish second in their season opener.
PGA TOUR University Total Points
Out of the top-20 finishers in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking, the three players with the highest combined point total (FedExCup and Korn Ferry Tour points) this season will be exempt on Korn Ferry Tour the following season.
PGA TOUR U Class of 2023 – Total Points
Through Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron (Korn Ferry Tour); TOUR Championship (PGA TOUR)
| Rank | Player | FedExCup Points | Korn Ferry Tour Points | Total Points |
| 1 | Adrien Dumont de Chassart | 0 | 1,132.58 | 1,132.58 |
| 2 | Ricky Castillo | 0 | 584.137 | 584.137 |
| 3 | Patrick Welch | 0 | 301.371 | 301.371 |
| 4 | William Mouw | 56.25* | 223.404 | 279.654 |
| 5 | Ryan Burnett | 0 | 173.317 | 173.317 |
| 6 | Sam Bennett | 95.717* | 0 | 95.717 |
| 7 | Yuxin Lin | 0 | 84.571 | 84.571 |
| 8 | Ross Steelman | 0 | 73.25 | 73.25 |
| 9 | Fred Biondi | 0 | 23.833 | 23.833 |
*Non-member points
Notes:
• Total Points are earned starting the week after the conclusion of the NCAA Championship.
• Players must be a member to be eligible to earn Korn Ferry Tour status via PGA TOUR University Total Points.