PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR Policy Board and Korn Ferry Tour Player Advisory Council formally approved a policy which will enable Korn Ferry Tour members who earn FedExCup points at the U.S. Open to have those points count toward their total on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

The U.S. Open traditionally crosses over with the Korn Ferry Tour’s Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics, meaning members who qualified for previous U.S. Opens sacrificed an opportunity to improve their standing on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List. Monday’s announcement eliminates this difficult choice for Korn Ferry Tour members.

Starting with the 2023 U.S. Open, scheduled for June 15-18 at Los Angeles Country Club, Korn Ferry Tour members (i.e. – active members at the time the U.S. Open is played) who make the 36-hole cut will have the FedExCup points they earn added to their season-long total on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

"We have immense pride in the talent level of our Korn Ferry Tour members, and it's always thrilling to see them compete - and contend - in major championships," said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin. "This policy change is something we've been exploring with our membership and our Player Advisory Council for a few years, and we look forward to cheering on our members as they compete in the U.S. Open this season and beyond.”

Twenty Korn Ferry Tour members qualified for the 2022 U.S. Open, including Class of 2022 graduates and current PGA TOUR members Erik Barnes, MJ Daffue, Harry Hall, David Lingmerth, Brandon Matthews, Taylor Montgomery, and Sam Stevens. Nine Korn Ferry Tour members made the cut and would have earned points on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List under the new policy.

As an example of how the new policy would have applied at the 2022 U.S. Open, Daffue’s T31 finish earned him 26.06 non-member FedExCup points. Had those points counted toward his regular season total on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, Daffue would have finished the regular season ranked No. 8 as opposed to No. 11.

“I think it’s an awesome change,” said PGA TOUR rookie and Korn Ferry Tour Class of 2022 graduate Taylor Montgomery. “At a U.S. Open, you want the best players in the world, and a lot of the best players in the world are on the Korn Ferry Tour. I think you’ve seen that the last couple years with guys like Will Zalatoris, Sahith [Theegala], guys like that, and there are only going to be more to come from that Tour.”

Prior to earning his PGA TOUR card in August, Montgomery previously finished 26th on the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List, and in 2021, he made the cut and finished T57 at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

“It’s going to be a huge change for Korn Ferry Tour players, just not having to decide whether they should play on the Korn Ferry Tour or in the U.S. Open,” added Montgomery.

This is the second significant announcement between the Korn Ferry Tour and United States Golf Association (USGA) in the last year. In January 2022, the USGA announced that the No. 1 player on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List at the conclusion of each season will receive an exemption into the following year’s U.S. Open. Justin Suh earned the first such exemption for the 2023 U.S. Open, as the San Jose, California native and University of Southern California alum won the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing and Finance to finish atop the season-long 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

Additional perks for finishing No. 1 on the annual Korn Ferry Tour Points List include fully exempt status on the PGA TOUR the following season, as well as an exemption for the following season’s THE PLAYERS Championship.

The U.S. Open points announcement is part of several changes the Korn Ferry Tour will implement in 2023.

Perhaps the most notable change will be the additional five PGA TOUR cards awarded through the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, meaning the top 30 players (up from 25) will earn PGA TOUR membership at season’s end.

The reimagined Korn Ferry Tour Finals will no longer be a competition for PGA TOUR cards between the top 75 on the Korn Ferry Tour and Nos. 126-200 in the FedExCup standings. The Finals will now refer to the final four events of the season, where members will compete for increased purses and points allocations. The four Finals events will feature $1.5 million purses and award 600 points to each winner. The preceding 22 events on the schedule will have a minimum purse of $1 million – a 67% increase from 2021 to 2023 – and award 500 points to winners.

Additionally, PGA TOUR cards will be awarded to the top five players and ties at the Final Stage of the 2023 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament (Q-School), marking the first time TOUR cards will be awarded through Q-School since 2012.

The 26-event 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season opens at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, set for January 15-18. The season-opening tournament will be the first of back-to-back events in The Bahamas.