All players who tee it up at Final Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament will cement 2023 Korn Ferry Tour membership.

Earning guaranteed starts, though, is no picnic.

A highly competitive field of young stars and savvy vets will square off at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah, Georgia, in a 72-hole competition to determine Priority Ranking on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour.

Here’s a look at the stakes in the Peach State, where each player will play 36 holes at The Landings Club’s Marshwood Course and 36 holes at the Magnolia Course. (Half the field will play Marshwood on Friday and Magnolia on Saturday; the other half will play Magnolia on Friday and Marshwood on Saturday. The field will then be sorted by score with re-pairing into Sunday’s third round. Re-pairing by course will occur into Monday’s final round.)

• Medalist and ties are fully exempt on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour
• Finishers 2-10 and ties earn 12 guaranteed starts on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour
• Finishers 11-40 and ties earn eight guaranteed starts on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour
• Remainder of field is conditionally exempt on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour

It’s the final year of Q-School as it has been structured since 2013, with top finishers gaining solely Korn Ferry Tour access. Beginning at next year’s Q-School, the top five finishers (and ties) will gain PGA TOUR access. Prior to 2013, top Q-School finishers gained PGA TOUR access as well.

Here’s a capsule look at 10 players to watch at Final Stage of Q-School:

The Frenchman played the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020-21 but lost status, then was unable to compete in 2021 Q-School due to a severe autoimmune issue and thyroid attack that left him unresponsive for five days last fall. Bouniol, 35, authored one of Q-School’s most heroic rallies at Second Stage this month, closing in 64-63 in Plantation, Florida to advance on the number. After making just six cuts in 23 starts in 2020-21, he believes his newfound perspective will pay dividends in the next chapter of his career.

The mini-tour legend burst onto the scene this summer, where he qualified for the U.S. Open at Brookline and embraced a narrative as an everyman who enjoys a libation or two as he chases his dreams. The U.S. Open marked his first TOUR-sanctioned start, and the small-town Washington native aims to change that next season. Calkins earned Dakotas Tour Player of the Year honors in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and he advanced through both First Stage and Second Stage to punch his ticket to Savannah.

The twin brother of Live and Work in Maine Open winner Pierceson Coody, he successfully navigated the Second Stage site in Albuquerque to punch his ticket to Savannah, where he’ll aim to join his brother with guaranteed starts in 2023. The recent University of Texas graduate gained direct access to Second Stage via a top-15 finish on the PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking. He also finished No. 12 on the PGA TOUR Canada Fortinet Cup, a season which included a win at the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open.

The New Jersey native finished No. 7 on this year’s PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking, as part of a sparkling campaign as a fifth-year Oklahoma senior en route to winning the Fred Haskins Award as the top collegiate golfer in the United States. He played his first four collegiate seasons at Rutgers, steadily improving as he more aggressively pursued a pro golf career both on and off the course. Gotterup found quick success on TOUR with six made cuts in eight starts after turning pro, including a T4 at the John Deere Classic. He qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and fared well enough to gain direct access to Final Stage, where he’ll eye guaranteed starts in 2023.

The Texas native teamed with the Coody brothers to guide the University of Longhorns to the 2022 men’s golf national title, and now he’ll aim to make hay as a professional. Hammer, 23, entered the national golf consciousness when he qualified for the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay at age 15, and he earned the 2019 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the No. 1-ranked men’s player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He finished fifth on the 2022 PGA TOUR University Velocity Global Ranking to gain direct access to Final Stage and will aim to take advantage.

The wily veteran dramatically advanced through Second Stage in California; after posting a 72-hole total of 6 under, it appeared for most of the afternoon that he would fall one stroke off the pace, before some late movement on the bubble fell in his favor. Levin, 38, has made 243 career TOUR starts, qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs on four occasions, but struggles with his game led him back to Q-School. The University of New Mexico alum and ball-striking savant aims to return to the Korn Ferry Tour full-time in his pursuit of the game’s highest level.

The 34-year-old is a two-time APGA Player of the Year, and he emotionally advanced through Second Stage on the number in South Florida to procure Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time. Mack, who hails from Grand Blanc, Michigan, won 11 times individually at Bethune-Cookman, helping the school to the 2008 NCAA Minority Championship title. He once lived in his car while pursuing his professional golf dreams; he nearly died when his car exploded in 2018. But he’s still fighting. He narrowly missed at Second Stage in 2021, and he made amends this fall by successfully navigating First Stage and Second Stage, punctuated with a clutch 4-footer on the 72nd hole of Second Stage this month at Plantation Preserve.

The veteran pro made waves this past summer on the Monday qualifying circuit, successfully qualifying for four PGA TOUR events in a five-week stretch, including a T16 at the John Deere Classic. He qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals on the strength of non-member FedExCup points, and now he’ll aim to demonstrate his splendid qualifying form amidst the qualifying backdrop of Final Stage. Naegel, 39, has made 76 career Korn Ferry Tour starts, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the 2019 WinCo Foods Portland Open, and he’s still grinding in chase of a spot at the game’s highest level.

The San Jose State alum, 25, has demonstrated sparks of brilliance in professional golf and will aim to parlay that form into guarantees starts on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour. The California native finished No. 4 on the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Totalplay Cup, a season which included a victory at the Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational in addition to four consecutive top-four finishes this spring. He also contended midway through the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank in August, flying up the board with a second-round 63. He gained direct access to Final Stage via his PGA TOUR Latinoamerica merit and will look to take advantage in Savannah.

The China native earned phenom status at 2015 Q-School, where he earned guaranteed Korn Ferry Tour starts as an 18-year-old. But the accomplished violinist found a steep learning curve in professional golf and spent four seasons on PGA TOUR Canada, alternating with struggles at Q-School, before breaking through at Second Stage this month in South Florida to regain Korn Ferry Tour membership. Now 25 years old, Wang expressed appreciation for the journey after successfully completing Second Stage, and he’ll aim to demonstrate his veteran savvy in his return to Final Stage this week.