The Korn Ferry Tour is the premier pathway to the PGA TOUR, with 30 cards awarded via the season-long standings.

The Korn Ferry Tour was established in 1990, with five TOUR cards awarded via the season-long standings. This number has grown in steady increments through the years, with the current number – 30 PGA TOUR cards – introduced in 2023.

The circuit has stood the test of time as a dynamic proving ground for the game’s highest level, with alumni including Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele and many more.

Tiger Woods, 82-time TOUR winner, never competed on the Korn Ferry Tour but has seen its impact firsthand.

“I think that going through a whole season hardens the guys and teaches them the whole lifestyle of traveling, which is so different than college, and doing it for a year-long period,” Woods said. “I think it teaches the guys how to be more aggressive, and when they come out here and they have to play our TOUR, all of a sudden they’re ready to make birdies. They’re ready to play aggressively, and take on flags, and take on the challenges. It sets them up for … a higher success rate.”

The season culminates with the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance – featuring the top 75 on the season-long standings – with 30 PGA TOUR cards awarded at week's end.

Korn Ferry Tour Points List

The Korn Ferry Tour Points List determines the 30 players who earn PGA TOUR membership for the following season. The top 75 retain Korn Ferry Tour membership for the following season.

Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season events utilize a standardized tie table with 500 points allocated to the winner, 300 points allocated to a solo runner-up, and so on. If multiple players tie at a certain position, those points are added together and divided accordingly. (Ex. If six players tie for sixth in an event, the totals of finishers 6-11 are added together and divided by six, with the same points distribution to each player.)

Players who make the cut at an event will receive Korn Ferry Tour points for that finish.

Korn Ferry Tour Finals events use a standardized tie table with 600 points allocated to the winner, 330 points allocated to a solo runner-up, and so on. If multiple players tie at a certain position, those points are added together and divided accordingly.

Korn Ferry Tour Finals

The four-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals brings the season-long points race to a dramatic close, as 30 PGA TOUR cards are finalized after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance.

The top 156 players gain access to the first Finals event, with field reductions after each event based on the cumulative Points List.

156 players: Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron
144 players: Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation
120 players: Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship
75 players: Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance

Priority Ranking

The Priority Ranking is the foundation of how each week's field is comprised.

At the beginning of each Korn Ferry Tour season, a new Priority Ranking is devised, consisting of approximately 30 categories. The Priority Ranking is first split into two main categories: fully exempt members and conditional members.

Fully exempt members can enter any Korn Ferry Tour event prior to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, regardless of their point total at any juncture. (Korn Ferry Tour Finals fields are determined via the season-long Points List.)

The Priority Ranking determines which conditional members gain access to each tournament field (in addition to Monday qualifers and sponsor exemptions).

Reshuffle

Upon each periodic reshuffle, Korn Ferry Tour members who have surpassed their allotted number of guaranteed starts move into a conditional category based on their position on the season-long standings at the time of the reshuffle. The more points accrued at the time of the reshuffle, the higher one’s position on the Korn Ferry Tour Priority Ranking within the reshuffle interval.

Fully exempt players are not included in the reshuffle category.

What it means to be #TOURBound

The top 30 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List earn PGA TOUR membership for the following season.

Players who earn TOUR membership via the Korn Ferry Tour category will earn spots in a ‘Korn Ferry Tour graduates’ category on the TOUR Priority Ranking. This category is slotted behind PGA TOUR exempt members (top 125 category) and the 10 players who earn status via the DP World Tour. Reshuffles will occur in certain intervals throughout the season to ensure high-achieving players are positioned accordingly.

The season-long points winner, though, will earn fully exempt TOUR status for the following season, immune from the reshuffle category. This player will also secure a spot in the following year’s PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open.

Players to finish No. 1 in recent years include Justin Suh (2022), Stephan Jaeger (2020-21), Scottie Scheffler (2019) and Sungjae Im (2018).

Three-Victory Promotion

Winning three times on the Korn Ferry Tour within one season provides automatic TOUR membership, effective the following week. Perhaps the most famous example came in 2005, when Jason Gore won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour within a month – then won on the PGA TOUR that fall. His Korn Ferry Tour torrent came shortly after he played in the final group of the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

Only 12 times has a Three-Victory Promotion been accomplished, and only three times since 2009. The most recent player to earn a Three-Victory Promotion was Mito Pereira in the 2020-21 combined season. The last player to earn a Three-Victory Promotion within a single-year season is Wesley Bryan in 2016.

Monday qualifying

Most Korn Ferry Tour events offer eight spots via an 18-hole qualifying event, which typically occurs on Monday of tournament week and is often contested across two courses pending field size. If there is a tie for qualifying spots, a sudden-death playoff will determine which players advance into the tournament field.

As of 2023, there have been 26 Monday qualifiers to win on the Korn Ferry Tour, most recently Spencer Levin at the 2023 Veritex Bank Championship.

Korn Ferry Tour Finals events do not offer Monday qualifying.