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Stanford’s Karl Vilips, No. 14 in PGA TOUR University Ranking, on the rise after NCAA Championship’s opening round

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PGA TOUR University

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)

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 rankCurrent rankPlayer (college)NCAA Championship
    11Michael Thorbjornsen (Stanford University)T41
    No. 1 earns PGA TOUR membership
    22Christo Lamprecht (Georgia Tech)T5
    33Austin Greaser (University of North Carolina)T81
    44Matthew Riedel (Vanderbilt University)T41
    55Nicholas Gabrelcik (University of North Florida)T41
    Nos. 2-5 earn fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership
    66William Moll (Vanderbilt University)T97
    714Karl Vilips (Stanford University)T3
    88Cole Sherwood (Vanderbilt University)T63
    911Mats Ege (East Tennessee State University)T8
    109Gustav Frimodt (Texas Christian University)--
    Nos. 6-10 earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour status, fully exempt PGA TOUR Americas membership
    117Frederik Kjettrup (Florida State University)T148
    1210Michael Brennan (Wake Forest University)T13
    1312Sampson-Yunhe Zheng (University of California-Berkeley)T13
    1413Ben Lorenz (University of Oklahoma)T112
    1516Herman Wibe Sekne (Purdue University)T25
    1615Jonas Baumgartner (Oklahoma State University)T81
    1719Ryggs Johnston (Arizona State University)--
    1820Canon Claycomb (University of Alabama)--
    1917Dylan Menante (University of North Carolina)T112
    2018Maxwell Moldovan (Ohio State University)T63
    2121Petr Hruby (University of Washington)--
    2229John Keefer (Baylor University)T5
    2323Santiago De la Fuente del Valle (University of Houston)--
    2422Bryce Lewis (University of Tennessee)T112
    2524John Marshall Butler (Auburn University)T41
    Nos. 11-25 earn fully exempt PGA TOUR Americas membership