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2023 TICKETS

PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry

Grounds Pass

Experience the final stage of the 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry with a Grounds Pass, officially scheduled for December 14-17. Grounds Pass holders have the opportunity to access the tournament grounds at Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass during competition days. Each ticket purchased will be donated to one of three local nonprofits selected.

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First Tee – North Florida

First Tee is a youth development organization that enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. By seamlessly integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum, we create active learning experiences that build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that kids can carry to everything they do. We’re Building Game Changers through our junior golf programs.

First Tee - North Florida

Moore-Myers Children’s Fund

At Moore-Myers Children’s Fund (MMCF), we strive to provide our Eagles with the fundamental skills for the game of golf and beyond. Our goal is to help students develop exceptional character and prepare them to play college-level golf. The Moore-Myers Children’s Fund was inspired by Annie Moore, a teacher, and Jessie Myers, an entrepreneur and mentor to many. Both women dedicated their lives to improving the lives of others, especially the lives of children.

Jacksonville Area Golf Association (JAGA)

Established in 1954, JAGA enters its 70th year in 2023. It is a not-for-profit corporation of approximately 40-member golf clubs located in Northeast Florida. JAGA’s mission is to promote golf, community and goodwill through tournaments and related events and activities. It conducts or supports 12 tournaments, including six championship events and six others that feature team formats. JAGA has a charitable arm that manages a scholarship program which currently provides college funding for 35 area students.

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FIRE PIT COLLECTIVE

Why this week’s KFT Q School forced some players into hard choices

Editor's Note: This article first appeared in Fire Pit Collective , a Golf Digest content partner.

Steve Dykes

In a professional golfer’s mind, securing tour status is somewhere between inspiring hopes and unattainable dreams. Q School season is winding down, and talented professional golfers and hopeless dreamers alike have embarked on another qualifying odyssey. The entry fees are steep, the travel costs high, and the competition merciless. To make matters more complicated, the landscape has changed. A massive amount of money has been showered upon the game, and there has never been a better time to be an established and, especially, elite player. But what about everyone else? What does the steep ascent to the top of professional golf look like when you’re at the bottom?

At the end of every season, aspiring professional golfers take inventory of their bankrolls, skills, mettle, family situation and more and make one of the biggest decisions of their careers: which qualifying school to enter. Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour Q School are held in the fall. Both have three main stages to navigate, and for KFT newcomers, an additional pre-qualifying stage. As players advance deeper into the stages, the dates of the Q Schools overlap.

Rico Hoey graduated from Southern California in 2017 and won in his first season on PGA Tour Canada. He recorded three top-10 finishes in his first season on the KFT in 2018, narrowly keeping his card. After failing to measure up the past few seasons, he ran the Q School gauntlet this fall.

“No matter what Q School I do, I just want to get on a tour and play there,” Hoey (below) says. “Once the prices came out, it was pretty shocking.” The $6,500 price tag to enter KFT Q School was steep, but he decided it was worth the risk. DPWT Q School had been on a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, but the $2,200 cost didn’t change.

Wesley Hitt

“I decided to try both,” Hoey says. “I always knew if I got to the final stage of both, I’d choose the Korn Ferry Tour. If I didn’t make it through KFT, at least I had the DP World Tour as a backup.” Hoey was unwavering at the first and second stage of KFT Q School, advancing after finishing T-10 and T-6. Between stages, he traveled to Denmark for DPWT Q School, but the rain and cold dampened his momentum, and he failed to advance.

Jhared Hack is a past champion of the Western Junior and Western Amateur and was a top professional prospect when he left the University of Central Florida in 2009. He has played three seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour since, with a handful of PGA Tour and DPWT starts to his name. In recent years he battled the driver yips, but he slowly worked his way back to the brink of the big time. Last year he spent an entire practice round vibrating on another frequency, shooting a 15-under-par 57 at Las Vegas Golf Club. He posted a final-round 63 to win the Arizona Open. Still, he had minimal financial support this season, so Hack carefully weighed his Q School choices.

“First thing was the monetary value: $2,200 vs $6,500,” he recalls. “I’m gonna get a life experience from one of those. I’d never been to Italy.” Hack focused all of his energy and resources on DPWT Q School, in part because of the ultimate carrot: As part of the strategic alliance between the PGA Tour and the DPWT, the top 10 finishers at the end of the DPWT season will earn PGA Tour cards. Last month Hack traveled to Italy, shot 14 under and advanced to the second stage by four shots. “Beautiful to see,” Hack says in reflecting on the experience. “I stayed for a few extra days and got to see the Swiss Alps, which was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

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Stuart Macdonald is Canadian and a 2016 Purdue graduate. Macdonald fell just shy of gaining his PGA Tour card in 2021, finishing outside the top 25 on the KFT Finals points list, at 33rd. That season he had four top 10s in a stretch of five events. When a middling 2022 season left him without tour status, Macdonald signed up for both Q Schools.

“At the time when I decided to do DP, it was solely on the idea that I wanted status badly somewhere,” Macdonald says. “I wanted to have two chances essentially.” He excelled at first and second stage of KFT Q School and advanced through DPWT first stage. “It’s so important to get status this year because of what the future looks like,” he says.

With billions of dollars fueling the rise of LIV Golf and forcing the PGA Tour’s frantic restructuring, golfers trying to play their way to the top feel a particular urgency. In 2023, the PGA Tour will have 13 elevated events, each with a $20 million purse; the top 70 players are exempt into those. Players outside the top 70 are fighting desperately to move up, but until they do, they will be relegated to lesser tournaments. Jack Nicklaus expressed concern about non-elevated events, specifically the long-running Honda Classic, calling these tournaments “feeders.” Tournament directors from non-elevated events and others around the Tour have expressed similar concerns about an expanding chasm between players and events that were instrumental in building the tour. As for those players trying to move up, they are fighting a stiff headwind.

The Korn Ferry Tour is undergoing its own changes. Purses next season will increase from $750,000 to $1 million per event, a move that was announced well before LIV’s debut. The number of PGA Tour cards awarded at the end of the next KFT season will increase from 25 to 30. The tour has eliminated its three-event postseason, called the KFT Finals, at which 25 additional cards were awarded. The KFT Finals was open to the top 75 players on KFT and players ranked 126 through 200 on the final FedEx Cup standings from the PGA Tour. Players ranked 26 through 30 at the end of the year will undoubtedly be grateful, but the elimination of the Finals could mean a loss of PGA Tour cards, or at least an opportunity, for KFT members. Excelling early in the KFT season is now essential.

“I always felt like I wanted to get my tour card in the regular season because I felt like you earned it a little more,” Macdonald says, adding that the schedule changes will probably make the Korn Ferry Tour more competitive.

Hoey agrees. “It just makes it that much harder,” he says. “You need to win.”

As the KFT season winds down and the order of merit points accumulate, it will become more difficult to make a meaningful move up the points list. The KFT Finals gave hope to players looking for another avenue to secure their PGA Tour cards. In some cases, one hot week did the trick. Previously, some KFT members who had locked up their KFT cards for the following season but weren’t close to winning a PGA Tour card might have taken an event or two off to rest before the Finals. That created more opportunities for players farther down the standings. Without the three-event Finals, the end of a KFT season probably will be must-play. It most certainly will be exhausting and pressure-packed.

“You gotta play better,” Hoey says. “It’s not just about retaining your card now. Playing opportunities are going to get tougher and tougher. You just have to adapt. All I care about right now is to get starts and go play.” While the significant bump in KFT purses is welcomed, it’s long overdue. For players in the highest level of golf’s minor leagues, the pursuit isn’t getting any cheaper.

J.T. Griffin is a former Georgia Tech standout who graduated to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2017. From 2019 to ’21, Griffin accumulated five top-10 finishes on the KFT, but he only maintained conditional status for the 2022 season. He and his fiancee, Mary Kaitlyn, had their first child, Graham, in early 2021. After failing to advance through Q School this season, he is now questioning the feasibility of playing professional golf with a young family.

“I was in the 76-to-85 category this year,” says Griffin, referring to his final KFT ranking. “In April I no longer had health coverage. If you’re under the PGA Tour umbrella, how are you not covered health insurance-wise? I can’t go to the doctor.” The PGA Tour provides a generous health insurance stipend for full members of the Korn Ferry Tour, or those who finish in the top 75, but not for conditional members. Griffin (below) says he spent about $75,000 a year in expenses, and despite maintaining conditional status after the 2020-21 season, when he made 19 cuts in 38 starts, he had little to show for it.

“I need to do something for Graham and my family,” says Griffin. “I was on the Korn Ferry Tour and I couldn’t afford to be on the Korn Ferry Tour. I’ve been talking to some friends who were right at 75. And I was like, ‘Hey, man, what is your end of the year?’ And they’re like, ‘I didn’t make anything.’ You’re a professional athlete on one of the biggest stages in our sport and there’s nothing. And we will continue to come back because the PGA Tour is that cool. You get a taste of it and you’ll chase it until it kills you and everyone around you.”

Some 10,000 miles away, opportunity calls louder than ever. The Asian Tour has suddenly become an attractive option for players from the West. LIV committed $300 million to the Asian Tour over the next 10 years, and purses are expanding. (For the elevated International Series events, purses are expected to be between $2 million and $4 million.) And for the first time ever, an early stage of Asian Tour Q School will be held in the U.S., in Arizona later this month. The implications could be far-reaching.

After graduating from Yale, James Nicholas gained status on the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2020 season. He won the 2020 New York State Open and had three top-20 finishes on KFT in the 2020-21 season. Last month he advanced through the first stage of KFT Q School in Mobile, Ala., then immediately flew across the Atlantic for DWPT Q School, where he failed to qualify. The following week, he was back in Alabama for the second stage of KFT Q School. Understandably fatigued, Nicholas struggled.

So he turned his attention to the Asian Tour. “I want to play on the PGA Tour,” Nicholas says. “But you do need to make a decision when you’re going to Q School and you don’t get through, to find a place to play. To find a place to hone your skills. You have to support yourself financially. I think the strength of field over there (Asian Tour) is going to be way better; that’s why you get more World Ranking points.”

What will probably give some players pause from embarking on an Asian adventure is the lack of a clear pathway leading back home. LIV has said the top player from the Asian Tour International Series will be promoted to its tour. The opportunity to play for one spot, however, is unlikely to drive the long-term decisions of many players. The Asian Tour is more likely to host LIV players in search of World Ranking points than the other way around. Still, millions of dollars in prize money and the chance to travel the world will entice many.

“I was going to sign up for Asian Q School if I didn’t get through Italy,” Hack says. “But all the sites are full. All my friends are wait-listed. Apparently that Arizona site filled up in five minutes.”

“My goal is to play on the PGA Tour, it’s not to play over in Asia for 10 years,” Nicholas says. “My hope is I play one year over there, win a couple times and get my World Ranking points high enough to get a couple of [PGA Tour] invites.”

“It seems like some doors are closing and some doors are opening,” Macdonald says.

The doors quietly closing are on the lowest levels of PGA Tour sanctioned competition. PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada are the entry-level circuits for the PGA Tour. Tour benefits are structured similarly between the two tours, and purses are about $175,000. Events span provinces, countries and in the case of Latinoamerica, continents.

“It’s expensive to travel through Latin America. It’s not easy. Same with Canada,” says Nicholas, who played often in Canada this season. “You can be playing pretty decent golf and lose $20,000 to $30,000 in the span of 10 weeks.”

The value of a strong performance on PGA Tour Latinoamerica has recently been diminished. Consistent with past seasons, the top player will earn full status on the Korn Ferry Tour. Players ranked second through fifth will gain conditional KFT status, but they will have to go to the second stage of Q School to improve their positions. In past seasons, players ranked 2 through 10 received conditional status on KFT through an exemption to the final stage of Q School. Players ranked sixth through 10th won’t receive KFT status. Players ranked 11th through 25th had gained an exemption to the second stage of Q School, but that perk has been eliminated. Although the same changes haven’t been announced for PGA Tour Canada, players anticipate that’s only a matter of time.

The reduction of benefits and stagnated purses on PGA Tour Latinoamerica resulted in fewer signups for three of its four qualifying tournaments. This is a major departure from past seasons and an ominous sign for the tour. Before deciding to play Asian Tour Q School, Nicholas (below) signed up for PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

“I heard a rumor that Latin (Tour) was slashing their spots,” Nicholas says. “I spent $1,750 on Q School not knowing that only one player was going to get guaranteed starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, when it was five the year before. The big thing for me was a top 20 used to get exempt to the second stage (of KFT Q School) and now it’s only top 10.” Despite his preference to remain closer to home, Nicholas withdrew from Latinoamerica Q School and looked to Asia.

“I think traveling through Asia would be just as hard as traveling through Latin America,” says Nicholas, who adds that there were few advantages to playing the Latinoamerica circuit. “If you finished 11th on the money list, it meant you probably won a tournament and you had to go back to the first stage of Q School.”

With their small purses and high travel costs, these development circuits relied on the enticement of potential exemptions to the next level. With those drying up, more players may consider spending their resources elsewhere.

Griffin played in nine PGA Tour Canada events in 2022 and had a pair of top-10 finishes, securing PGA Tour Canada status for next year. “You’re kind of in purgatory when you’re on any of the tours that aren’t the PGA Tour,” he says. “How do I have that conversation with Mary Kaitlyn and Graham? Hey, I’m gonna be gone all summer, and if we’re lucky we won’t spend any of our money. We can’t put any money in your college fund, and don’t get sick because we can’t afford to take you to the doctor.”

“Reading about the Latinoamerica Tour, it was kind of shocking because at this point it’s like, what’s the point of having this tour?” Hoey asks. “Do you want those guys to advance at all?”

Hack played multiple seasons on both the Latinoamerica circuit and PGA Tour Canada. He still sees a benefit for aspiring pros to compete on these tours. “The way I look at all these events is I’m just buying experience,” he says. “You’re buying an experience to use for Q School.”

The good news for professional golf hopefuls is that Q School is returning to glory. For the first time since 2012, it will offer a direct pathway to the PGA Tour. The top five and ties at the final stage of 2023 Q School will get to play for the big bucks. Fans who have glanced at golf headlines over the past six months know some PGA Tour events are getting massive purse bumps. “It’s great that [the PGA Tour] magically found a couple hundred million,” Phil Mickelson quipped at a recent LIV press conference. “That’s awesome.” It’s a line repackaged around every level of professional golf. The entry fee for next year’s Q School will be anybody’s guess. What we do know is that the opportunity to win one of those coveted PGA Tour cards is getting more difficult.

“Everyone is just so much better,” Hack says. “Cuts that used to be 1 or 2 under par are 5 or 6 under now. Look at annual sites for Q School like Plantation Preserve (a second-stage site for KFT Q School). I think I’ve gotten through there twice and the cut’s been six under, and it took 13 under this year. Yeah, the weather might have been a little better, but players are just getting better.”

It wasn’t the increased depth of the competition that ended Hack’s Q School run, however. His usually precise iron game and deft touch around the greens abandoned him at second stage of DPWT Q School. He’s now facing another season without a tour to compete on. “I couldn’t scrape it in any way at all,” Hack says. “I’m shocked and frustrated for sure.”

Junior golfers grow up dreaming about a career on the PGA Tour and contending in majors. As juniors become skilled collegians, those dreams become goals and then pursuits. For the top collegiate prospects, taking advantage of sponsor exemptions was a way to earn status on tour. With limits on the number of sponsor exemptions a rising star can accept, however, few turn those opportunities into tangible status. Many are relegated to the first stage of Q School or a developmental tour. Then there’s 22-year-old Eugenio Chacarra, who decided to forgo his senior year at Oklahoma State to sign with LIV. Last month he won the LIV even t in Bangkok, a $4 million payday. Chacarra (below) has been joined on LIV by two other top college players: David Puig from Arizona State and James Piot from Michigan State.

Jonathan Ferrey/LIV Golf

Does this mean the fuel that ignites ambitious players everywhere is changing? Is it now all about the Benjamins?

Macdonald sees new and uncertain pathways to earn a living as a professional golfer. “Money has become the driver,” he says. “I mean, it always has been, but more so now. I just think for so many players it fogs their vision of what their dreams were of playing professional golf and what that looks like. It’s not as clear anymore.” After a disheartening T-126 finish at the final stage of KFT Q School, where the top 40 finishers earned guaranteed starts for next season, Macdonald faces more uncertainty. “I’m just kind of, like, confused,” he says. “I couldn’t get out of my own way after the first day. It just wasn’t easy. It’s obviously an important week. It was a long week.” His path back to the Korn Ferry Tour next season will run through Monday qualifiers. “Definitely going to get after the Mondays,” Macdonald says. “I’ll be on that grind for a little bit. Hopefully not too long.”

Hoey, who turned 27 in September, is focused on reaching the PGA Tour. “It is cool to see the money is growing,” he says. “That’s the biggest thing. It’s really enticing. I just hope some of that money filters down to the Korn Ferry Tour.” Like Macdonald, Hoey was also in the enviable position of having a tee time at KFT’s final stage. “I’m still pretty young and for me, I just want to give it a shot on the PGA Tour,” he says.

After struggling to an opening-round 73, Hoey battled back with rounds of 70, 67 and 68, finishing T-17 to regain a coveted Korn Ferry Tour card. He left Georgia elated and relieved—and knowing he’ll have eight guaranteed starts to begin the 2023 season. “I’m just glad it’s over,” he says. “I can’t even describe it. I feel like I’m getting better. I’m one step closer to the PGA Tour. There’s no other feeling like it. It’s just awesome.”

Andrew Wevers

Professional golf has long prided itself on being a true meritocracy: shoot low scores and you will move up the ranks. There is optimism among professional golf hopefuls that when they do arrive at the top, the reward will be greater than ever. There is also growing concern that top players have more protection than ever. Rather than the considerable money at the top trickling down, it’s getting gobbled up. In a professional golfer’s mind, tour status is somewhere between inspiring hopes and unattainable dreams. Achieving that will take more grit—and more money—than ever.

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Annually, the best players in the world, not already on the PGA TOUR or Korn Ferry Tour, compete in the PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry for their chance to gain membership. In 2023, membership status will be available on the PGA TOUR Americas, Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA TOUR. For a breakdown of all the possible ways to earn membership through the PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, visit PGATOUR.com

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Tour pro delivers painfully honest message after 82 at Q School: 'That's probably the end of it for me' (UPDATE: Blayne Barber shoots 64 in final round)

S even years ago this week, Blayne Barber was part of a five-man playoff at the 2016 RSM Classic that bled over into Monday morning on St. Simons Island. He was ultimately one of the "losers" of that tournament, with Mackenzie Hughes draining an 18-footer for par to claim his first of two PGA Tour wins. It could have just as easily been Barber, a former Florida State Amateur winner and Walker Cupper who also won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2014.

RELATED: Charlie Woods channels dad with fist pump after chip-in at state tournament

Unfortunately it was not meant to be that week for Barber, and it has been nothing but a struggle since. His results pages from 2017 and beyond feature a slew of missed cuts and the occasional top 10. At one point in 2021, the Florida native dropped as low as 1,423rd in the Official World Golf Ranking.

At the end of 2022, Barber decided to step away from professional golf. He had just lost his card and had also just had his fourth child, making the decision a bit easier. "After a lot of conversations, I just decided to step away and go after some other things," Barber told PGATour.com in April 2023.

Little did he know he still had some conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour from back in 2014, so the game pulled him back at the Hometown Lenders Championship. He tied for seventh that week in Alabama, then picked up a T-12 three starts later at the Wichita Open. The good vibes faded quickly, however. Barber withdrew from his next event and then posted finishes of T-72 and T-63 before missing five consecutive cuts to close out the year on the KFT.

Barber decided to give it one last run this week at the second stage of Q School, which he was exempt for. Despite feeling very good about where his game was at, he opened with a brutal 10-over 82 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Dothan, Ala. The 33-year-old then took to Instagram to deliver a painfully honest message about what happened and where he goes from here.

"I am in last place by three shots. I shot what I believe is the highest round of my professional career today," Barber says at the beginning of the first clip. "Five years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, I would have not been able to handle today. I've put 60ish days of really, determined, precise, thoughtful preparation into this week. I've seen some really good, quality golf lately. All my practice has been going well. I've turned some corners with my pitching and short game around the greens. I've been driving it really well. Truly firing on all cylinders. Came into this week maybe more prepared and ready than I've felt for an event in a really long time.

"And today I had nothing," he added.

Barber went on to explain that it wasn't even anything that crazy. It didn't go haywire. He never gave up. He just, straight up, played horribly. It happens, even to a once-decorated amateur player who was one shot away from a life-changing PGA Tour victory seven years ago this week.

RELATED: Viktor Hovland's answer for what he's done with his $35 million will melt your heart

"Sometimes, you put the work in and you try really hard and you really want to do something," said Barber.

Boy, if that's not the dictionary definition of golf, we're not sure what is. Barber finished off his message with a hard-to-hear admission.

"That's probably the end of it for me, unless I do something wild and crazy the next three days," he said. "Q School's more than likely over, and I came into this with the mentality of this being the last go. And so, I just want to say in summary, change is accessible. Dealing with disappointment and frustration and not having an answer, which is something we crave in our culture today. I know I want an answer for everything. I wish I could give you an answer for why today didn't go well.

"I'm going to wake up tomorrow, I'm going to go through my routine and I'm going to fight like hell and finish this thing strong. And if that's 82, 82, 82, 82, so be it," he said.

We now know it will very much not be 82, 82, 82, 82, as Barber bounced back with a one-under 71 on Wednesday. Instead of owning dead last on his own, he's now T-75 out of 79 players, which is what you call progress, folks. Fifteen players, plus ties, will advance to the Final Stage. With two rounds to go, Barber is 13 shots out of the top 15, a seemingly insurmountable deficit that would take a miracle 36 holes to erase. Stranger things have happened, though, and it's clear in his message that Barber won't be going down without a fight.

RELATED: Rory McIlroy resigns from PGA Tour board

UPDATE:  Just three days after shooting what he believed was the highest round of his professional career (82), Blayne Barber finished the second stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q School with a final-round, eight-under 64. 

"That was probably one of the best rounds of golf I've played in a long time," Barber said afterward. 

Earlier this week, in a video posted to his Instagram account, Barber looked like he had seen a ghost after shooting 10 over. "That's probably the end of it for me," he said. "Unless I do something wild and crazy these next three days." 

It wasn't wild and crazy enough to advance to final stage and keep hope alive, but Barber's rounds of 71, 70 and 64 got him back under par for the week, resulting in a T-34 finish after beginning the second round in 79th, AKA dead last. He said he was going to keep fighting, and he meant it. 

It would be in very typical professional golfer fashion for Barber to now change course and say that he might still have some left in the tank, which he clearly does. You don't jump 45 spots up a leader board over three days without some game. But, by the sound of it, it does seem like he's content with his decision to call this the end. 

"I have prayed for a long time for clarity and discernment to know what the next steps are for me and for my career and my family," he said. "And prayers get answered a lot of times in ways that I wouldn't answer them. I think that 82, as sucky as it was, is a good answer."

As for what's next, Barber simply stated "stay tuned." 

Bryan Bros, South Carolina natives tell unconventional story of Myrtle Beach Classic

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At this week's inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic, George Bryan IV is making his second PGA TOUR start. Bryan IV and his brother Wesley Bryan, also competing this week, constitute the “Bryan Bros Golf” YouTube channel and are ambassadors of the Myrtle Beach golf community.

“It's just cool to be able to use our platform to be able to tell the story of the Myrtle Beach Classic,” said Bryan IV ahead of the event.

But what exactly is the story of the Myrtle Beach Classic?

For starters, it's an unconventional one.

Though Bryan IV led “The Q” up to the final hole, an errant approach shot in the water led to a bogey, and Atkins birdied to send it to a playoff, then made another birdie on the first playoff hole to seal the deal.

Referring to the qualifier, Bryan IV said, “It's never been a thing where YouTube has had an impact into a PGA TOUR event directly, and this is the first time it's ever happened … It was really freaking cool.”

It’s a story of second chances.

After “The Q,” Bryan IV was devastated – “I couldn't even go to the golf course and practice for a couple days because all I could think about was that 40-yard pitch shot out of the rough, downhill lie, and like, should I have laid up?” – but several weeks later, landed a spot in the event via a sponsor exemption.

In a video posted to the Bryan Bros YouTube channel, Bryan IV answers a phone call from Tournament Director Darren Nelson offering him the exemption. “Holy cow ... This is honestly a dream come true,” said Bryan IV. “Playing in a PGA TOUR event in my home state. ... let me catch my breath a little bit.”

No one knows about second chances better than Matt Atkins. After finding himself at a crossroads in November balancing family life with golf, he decided to enter The RSM Classic's Monday qualifier as a last resort, and he survived an eight-man playoff to earn one of four spots. Overcome with emotion, he said afterward: "I'll quit if I have to quit, because I'm not gonna sacrifice my family for golf, but I don't want to quit."

He then birdied the final three holes of The RSM Classic's second round to make the cut.

"I was down to no money," reflected Atkins. "A lot of prayers for clarity and discernment, and a lot of things got answered that week." The subsequent paycheck helped him continue his professional career, a path that led him to The Dunes Golf and Beach Club this week.

Matt Atkins emotionally qualifies for The RSM Classic

“When you're out here and you're playing and everything ... there's a lot of surface-level conversations,” continued Atkins. “There's maybe not as much depth in the conversations as there needs to be, so people don't really know what everyone is going through out here.

"It was cool to see some of the other players and caddies just kind of congratulate me on that week."

The place that sparked so many golf journeys gets its own event.

It's fitting that the PGA TOUR is anchoring in the "Golf Capital of the World" this week.

Just ask Trace Crowe, the 27-year-old Auburn University grad who was one of five players to earn their TOUR card at the 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. Crowe grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and bought his first set of clubs in Myrtle Beach at age 10.

Or ask Atkins. “I didn't grow up in South Carolina, but South Carolina is my home now," he said. "We vacationed here in Myrtle Beach, and this is where I would tell people, I just played golf on vacation.”

George Bryan IV and Wesley Bryan have been playing golf in Myrtle Beach since age 6. They played the George Holliday Memorial Junior Tournament here every Thanksgiving.

“I was a 12-year-old that won the (George Holliday) overall title against like 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds,” said George. “It's my first-ever win. It's a cool thing because that was 24 years ago. I mean, to come full circle, to play in a PGA TOUR event in my home state ... which I just now thought about. It's really special.”

What's in George Bryan IV's bag plus stock yardages

A story of philia love.

The philia love – love between brothers or close friends – Atkins and each of the Bryan brothers have for each other is apparent.

George Bryan IV and Wesley Bryan detailed how special it was to play their first PGA TOUR event together, which was George’s PGA TOUR debut, at the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Wesley and George Bryan on their expectations for Butterfield Bermuda

“I felt bad about how badly I was beating him in Bermuda at first,” joked George.

“They started chanting ‘Let’s catch Wes,'” Wesley said, and added that George was the only player he wants to beat this week: “I'm only checking George's score. Nobody else matters in the field.”

Atkins is an occasional friend of the Bryan Bros YouTube channel – although his friendship with the two got off to a rocky start. Atkins played with Wesley in a college event that Wesley has no recollection of. (“He was probably terrible," Wesley quipped.)

The two later played together in an eGolf Professional Tour event, and Wesley approached Atkins on the range at the Country Club of South Carolina the following week.

“Knowing him now, it's more funny because I know his personality,” said Atkins, “but he came up, and he was like, ‘Dude, I almost died yesterday.’ I was like, what? I played a practice round with him, but he came up to me like we were tight .... So that's kind of where our friendship kicked off.”

After getting married in 2017, Atkins moved to North Augusta, South Carolina, where Wesley lived, and the two frequently played golf together. “I didn’t get invited,” interjected George. The truth, Atkins clarified, was that George would film 1-on-1 matches for his YouTube channel, but not stay for group rounds.

“It was frustrating because I feel like I couldn't compete with you guys because y'all were pretty solid,” said George.

But as their friendship grew, so did Atkins’ encouragement towards George.

“The whole thing about Matt and a lot of the guys that we played with,” said George, “they've told me that even though my game was garbage in my eyes, ‘Dude, you're good enough to be on the PGA TOUR.’ Like what are you talking about? I just shot 74 … But he kept saying, ‘George, you're good enough to be on the PGA TOUR.' … They're part of the reason why I played as well as I did last year, got into (the Butterfield Bermuda Championship) and made the cut in the PGA TOUR event as a YouTuber guy.

“They helped instill confidence in me when I had zero confidence."

The favor was mutual, as George uplifted Atkins through his struggles in golf in 2023, saying: “Matt's a grinder. Like he believes in himself when he maybe on paper shouldn't. Getting through that Monday, making the cut and then going to this year, getting through some Mondays and playing like he has, it just shows you, you believe in yourself, how powerful the mind is and staying positive.”

Stephanie Royer is on staff at the PGA TOUR. She played college golf and is currently pursuing an MBA. A world traveler, she hopes to always keep her country count above her age and to hit every destination in the "National Treasure" movies.

'Like hitting the lottery': Canton's James Piot reflects on time with LIV Golf, future

Last month, playing on a mini golf tour in Florida, James Piot took home the title, and a first-place check for $2,500. That's a long way from his days with LIV Golf, with whom he was guaranteed six-figure paydays at every tournament, even if he finished last.

"A little different than those LIV paychecks, absolutely," Piot said, with a laugh. "But it doesn't really matter what I'm playing for. I want to win. I've never really checked the paychecks or anything like that. It's really all about competing. Money makes it sweeter, when you're on top, but it's about competing and winning.

"That's why you play the game. You can't put a price on trophies."

In the literal sense, that's plenty debatable. In 2021, Piot, while at Michigan State, parlayed an amazing week of golf at storied Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania into a U.S. Amateur championship — which led, at first, to some good NIL money, in the early days of NIL, and eventually, a two-year deal with LIV Golf, the upstart rival of the PGA Tour.

LIV Golf was, and still is, steeped in controversy, given where the money comes from (the Saudis, with their atrocious human-rights record), but it set up Piot, at the time just out of college with no status on any professional tour, for years to come. He made $6 million, including a signing bonus and nearly $4 million in on-course earnings.

Piot, a Canton native, bought a condo in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he spends about nine months of the year, and still has a good nest egg left to continue financing his golf dreams. And, yes, he still has ambitious dreams, even as he's starting from square one.

'Moving in the right direction'

That's what made that mini-tour win, in Stuart, Florida, so special. While he owns the most prestigious trophy in amateur golf, the mini-tour win was his first professional victory. Piot hopes that showing is a springboard to get him back to where he wants to be, playing on the biggest stages, against some of the best golfers in the world. Piot recently spoke to The News for the first time since he joined LIV Golf in June 2022, as LIV Golf eventually dictated what press he spoke with, and when, while he was under contract.

"It's good," Piot said, when asked about the state of his golf game. "I feel like it's moving in the right direction. I'm getting better every year. I'm still young. This is Year 3 of being a pro. It's funny to think about that.

"I am super blessed to be in the position that I am."

Piot, 25, is planning for another busy summer, after being relegated along with three other players from LIV Golf after some struggles to make traction during his two years on the tour. He's in Michigan now, and competed in a local U.S. Open qualifier at Muskegon Country Club on Monday. He shot 70, but lost out on the final spot for sectional qualifying after he lost in an eight-hole playoff to Grosse Pointe's Patrick Sullivan (Drew Cable, of Lake Orion and Grand Valley State, and Beau Breault, of Hartland, also advanced to sectionals out of Muskegon; Jake Kneen, of White Lake and Oakland, and Joe Juszczyk, of Dearborn Heights, advanced out of qualifying in Sylvania, Ohio).

Piot will play a hefty schedule on the Asian Tour, in a bid to earn back some status on LIV Golf, as the tours have teamed up to allow for an opportunity for promotion. And this fall, Piot will head to Qualifying School, in a bid to earn status on the Korn Ferry Tour, and eventually the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour remains a top goal for Piot, and it's achievable. He joined LIV Golf without status on any other tour, meaning he's not subject to any penalties, unlike those who left the PGA Tour or DP World Tour (European Tour) to join LIV Golf. Those players earned bans.

Because of LIV Golf, Piot has the bankroll to fund his golf escapades, without having to grovel for sponsors, like so many players toiling on the mini-tours. (One of those players, by the way, is former Michigan State golfer Donnie Trosper, the Canton native who made an ace in the mini-tour event Piot won — and tied for 17th, for all of $275).

Money management remains key, of course. The expenses add up when you consider travel, usually airfare, and hotels and meals and the caddie. Former MSU assistant Dan Ellis was Piot's caddie for the U.S. Amateur, and resigned from the school to become Piot's full-time caddie with LIV Golf.

"My parents keep me humble," Piot said of Glenn Sr. and Judith. "I'm not into anything super fancy.

"I'm still driving the same car since college."

Help from Lefty

Piot was in college just three years ago; now, he's played all over the world, forming friendships with some of the biggest names in the history of the game. No. 1 on that list is World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson, who was Piot's team captain in 2023 , and made himself accessible for anything Piot needed, on the golf or mentorship front.

Piot even made multiple trips to Mickelson's home in California, where they would work on their games together. Anytime Piot has a question, or needs to talk, he can text Mickelson. Mickelson has provided a lot of chipping instruction, and some swing tips, too.

And, yes, of course, when they played practice rounds together, there were stakes, but Mickelson, Piot said, always stated on the first tee that they'd only play for whatever Piot was comfortable with. Mickelson usually won the match, but Piot said he got him a few times.

"He may be 53," Piot said of Mickelson, who's won more major championships (six) than Piot has played in (two), "but he's still one of golf's greats."

Piot also credited his other 2023 teammates, longtime PGA Tour players Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale, for helping him make the transition from amateur to professional. Tringale and Piot live close to each other in Florida. Piot also praised Harold Varner III, a teammate of his from 2022.

But the best lessons he learned thorugh LIV Golf came on the golf course.

"It's definitely been a big step. You get to play on the biggest stage," Piot said. "I think seeing the best of the best play, that's such an advantage at my young age, to see what you have to be able to do to succeed at that level.

"I can't speak enough good things about it. The people there were awesome. ... It was kind of like hitting the lottery, with LIV Golf coming out that season (2022). It was awesome.

"I learned that even the best players in the world, they're still normal people. It was kind of cool meeting a lot of guys. ... Having Phil as a mentor was really cool.

"He did everything he could to try to make me better. ... That's a cool number to have."

A less-cool number? That would be 923rd, which is Piot's standing in the latest Official World Golf Rankings. In the grand scheme of things, with a world population of over 8 billion, that's pretty good when you think about it. But it's not where Piot wants to be, considering the white-hot buzz that surrounded him after he won the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont (where, by the way, he's now an honorary member; he went back last year with Ellis and swing coach Brian Cairns, a teacher at Fox Hills, and Ellis shot 67 from the tips to beat Piot and win a bet — Piot had to buy him a new bag from the clubhouse), and after he joined LIV Golf. He never seriously contended to win an individual title on LIV.

Still, Piot has zero regrets about his decision, which was controversial. Players who joined LIV Golf were widely criticized, though not everything was apples to oranges. Many PGA Tour players left one gravy train for a gravier train, but Piot was fresh out of college, and, frankly, looking for a job. He took the high-paying job.

He took some heat on social media, of course, though he didn't pay much mind to it. His family and friends were supportive. His best friends before he went to LIV Golf remains his friends today.

"Honestly, it didn't change much with friends and family, and that was the coolest thing," said Piot, who will play a bit of competitive golf in Michigan this year, maybe the Tournament of Champions, but he can't play the Michigan Open, because he's not a full-time Michigan resident anymore. "I've always had a pretty nice circle of friends. Everyone's still treating me the same, and I'm still the same person I've been."

Even if sometimes, particularly when he's playing over in Asia where the time difference prevents him from keeping in touch with his closest, golf starts to feel more like a job than a game.

"It's different when you're out there in your own world. It feels like a job," said Piot, a Detroit Catholic Central High School alum who still occasionally watches highlights on YouTube from his U.S. Amateur title when he needs to get some good vibes going. It was an unforgettable day, winning a USGA championship, and then learning moments later that Tom Izzo suddenly knew his name. "At the same time, I love it.

"As soon as the tournament starts, there's nothing else I'd rather be doing. It's what I love to do."

That's regardless of the numbers on the check.

What matters is the name on the trophy.

[email protected]

@tonypaul1984

Sixth Signature Event on PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+: Enhanced, Expanded Four-Stream Coverage of Wells Fargo Championship

• Enhanced Main Feed includes McIlroy, Homa, Tom Kim on Thursday, Friday
• Expanded Marquee and Featured groups include five of the top 10 players in the world: Clark, Schauffele, Hovland, Cantlay, Harman
• Also major champions Lowry, Morikawa, Spieth, Day, Matsuyama
• Coverage starts Thursday, May 9, at 11 a.m. ET
• Subscribe to ESPN+ on the ESPN App, ESPN.com and connected TV devices

Featuring one of the PGA TOUR’s strongest fields at its sixth Signature Event of the season, PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will stream expanded four-feed coverage of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, exclusively for ESPN+ subscribers.

• Coverage begins tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET , continues through Sunday, May 12.
• An enhanced Main Feed on Thursday and Friday features world No. 2 and 25-time TOUR winner Rory McIlroy , six-time TOUR winner and world No. 10 Max Homa , and TOUR winner and fan-favorite at world No. 23 Tom Kim .
• Expanded Marquee and Featured groups include five more of the world’s top 10 players , including Wyndham Clark , Xander Schauffele , Viktor Hovland , Patrick Cantlay , and Brian Harman , as well as major champions Shane Lowry , Collin Morikawa , Jordan Spieth , Jason Day , and Hideki Matsuyama .
• The Featured Holes feed will showcase Quail Hollow’s par-4 14th, along with three par-3’s: Nos. 4, 6 and 17.

Thursday, May 9 Main Feed | 11 a.m. ET Featured Holes | 11:45 a.m. ET

• Rory McIlroy – No. 2 world ranking, No. 16 in FedExCup standings, four-time major champion, 25-time TOUR winner, three-time FedExCup Champion, three-time PGA TOUR Player of the Year
• Tom Kim – No. 23 world ranking, three-time TOUR winner
• Max Homa – No. 10 world ranking, No. 22 in FedExCup standings, six-time TOUR winner, T3 at 2024 Masters

  Marquee Groups | 11:15 a.m. ET

• Shane Lowry – 2019 Open Championship winner, three-time TOUR winner, six DP World Tour victories
• Wyndham Clark – No. 3 world ranking, No. 2 in FedExCup standings, 2023 U.S. Open champion, 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am winner, three-time TOUR winner
• Xander Schauffele – No. 4 world ranking, No. 3 in current FedExCup standings, seven-time TOUR winner, Olympic Gold medalist
• Collin Morikawa – No. 13 world ranking, No. 11 in FedExCup rankings, T3 at 2024 Masters, 2021 Open Champion, 2020 PGA Championship winner, six-time TOUR winner
• Rickie Fowler – Six-time TOUR winner, 2010 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year
• Jordan Spieth – No. 21 world ranking, three-time major champion, 13-time PGA TOUR winner, 2015 FedExCup Champion

Featured Groups | 11 a.m. ET

• Brian Harman – No. 9 world ranking, No. 15 in FedExCup standings, 2023 Open Championship winner, three-time TOUR winner
• Jason Day – No. 24 world ranking, 13 PGA TOUR victories, 2015 PGA Championship winner
• Patrick Cantlay – No. 8 world ranking, No. 10 in FedExCup standings, eight-time TOUR winner, 2021 FedExCup Champion
• Hideki Matsuyama – No. 15 world ranking, No. 6 in FedExCup standings, 2021 Masters champion, 2024 Genesis Invitational winner, nine-time TOUR champion
• Sahith Theegala – No. 12 world ranking, No. 4 in FedExCup standings, TOUR winner (2023 Fortinet Championship), 2020 Haskins Award and Ben Hogan Award winner
• Viktor Hovland – No. 7 world ranking, defending FedExCup Champion, won three times in 2023 (Memorial Tournament, BMW Championship, TOUR Championship), six-time TOUR winner, two DP World Tour victories

At 2 p.m. ET , coverage will transition to two Featured Group feeds and two Featured Hole streams.

• Featured Group – Rory McIlroy/Tom Kim/Max Homa
• Featured Group – Collin Morikawa/Rickie Fowler/Jordan Spieth (When Morikawa, Fowler and Spieth complete their round, coverage will follow the Matsuyama/Theegala/Hovland group, in progress.)
• Featured Hole – No. 14 | Par 4
• Featured Hole – No. 17 | Par 3

Friday, May 10 Main Feed | 11 a.m. ET Featured Holes | 11:45 a.m. ET

• Featuring Rory McIlroy , Tom Kim, Max Homa (10th Tee: 11:33 a.m. ET)

Marquee Groups | 12:15 p.m. ET

• Shane Lowry/Wyndham Clark/Xander Schauffele
• Collin Morikawa/Rickie Fowler/Jordan Spieth

Featured Groups | 11:15 a.m. ET

• Hideki Matsuyama/Sahith Theegala/Viktor Hovland
• Brian Harman/Jason Day/Patrick Cantlay
• Featured Group – Rory McIlroy/Tom Kim/Max Homa (When McIlroy, Kim and Homa complete their round, coverage will follow the Lowry/Clark/Schauffele group, in progress.)
• Featured Group – Collin Morikawa/Rickie Fowler/Jordan Spieth (in progress)

Four-Feed Coverage of the Wells Fargo Championship | Exclusively on PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will follow a similar schedule Saturday and Sunday when pairings are announced.

The four feeds available on PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ include:

• Main Feed – The primary tournament coverage stream, showcasing the best action from across the course, with two dedicated booth announcers, a dedicated walking announcer and coverage drawn from all cameras at the event.
• Marquee Group – Every shot from each player in the group, with two booth announcers and one walking announcer calling the action.
• Featured Holes – Exclusive coverage of key par 3 holes and the course’s iconic, signature holes.
• Featured Groups – Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage following two concurrent featured groups, with two booth announcers and one walking announcer.

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ In this third year of PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+, fans will again have access to more than 4,300 live and exclusive hours covering 35 tournaments in 2024, including all eight of the TOUR’s Signature Events and at least 28 tournaments with four full days of coverage with four simultaneous live feeds each day. PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ is part of the PGA TOUR’s nine-year domestic media rights portfolio announced in March 2020 .

All ESPN+ subscribers have access to PGA TOUR LIVE, at no additional cost, in addition to more than 32,000 other live sporting events, acclaimed studio programs, original series and documentaries, as well as the complete library of ESPN 30 for 30 films and more than 1,500 exclusive written articles on ESPN.com.

About PGA TOUR By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide.

The PGA TOUR, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, co-sanctions tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Americas and administers PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry and PGA TOUR University. TOUR members represent the world’s best players, hailing from 28 countries and territories. Showcasing the biggest moments in the sport with history and legacy on the line, the PGA TOUR has long-term domestic distribution partnerships for broadcast coverage on CBS, NBC and Golf Channel and video streaming service on ESPN+. Internationally, PGA TOUR coverage is available across 200+ countries and territories in 28 languages via 44 broadcast and digital partners. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving, and to date, tournaments across all Tours have generated more than $3.93 billion.

Fans can follow the PGA TOUR on the new PGA TOUR app and PGATOUR.COM, and on social media channels, including  Facebook , Instagram (in  Spanish , Korean and Japanese ), LinkedIn , TikTok , X (in English and Spanish ), WhatsApp (in English and Spanish ),  WeChat ,  Weibo ,  Toutiao ,  Douyin and  LINE .

About ESPN+ ESPN+ is the No. 1 sports streaming platform, serving fans in the U.S. with exclusive access to more than 32,000 live sports events each year, an unmatched library of on-demand replays and acclaimed original content, and premium written articles by the top reporters and analysts from ESPN.com. Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $10.99 a month (or $109.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or in the ESPN App on mobile and connected devices. For more visit the ESPN+ Press Kit .

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PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp wins Mexico Open

PGA Tour rookie Jake Knapp is now a PGA Tour winner, taking home the Mexico Open on Sunday after shooting 19-under for the week, beating fellow rookie Sami Valimaki by two strokes.

Knapp started the round with a commanding four-shot lead, but let it slip away as his driver — the foundation of his first three rounds — betrayed him. Knapp hit two fairways in 18 holes on Sunday, and is the first PGA Tour player since 1983 to hit two or fewer fairways in his final round and win. Knapp hit 33 of 39 fairways Thursday-Saturday.

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Still, he secured the win after putting his drive on 18 into a left fairway bunker. Valimaki, needing eagle to force the playoff, went for broke and missed — his monster drive hit the cart path right and settled underneath a fence. Valimaki immediately began asking how much of a cushion he had over the trio in third place. A few moments later Knapp had a tap-in par and lifted his arms in triumph.

“Just grinding it out,” Knapp told NBC of his final round.

Knapp, 29, is just that — a professional golf grinder. The skill was always there — during high school, he shot a 58 on his home course and then a 61 during U.S. Open qualifying, and eventually matriculated to UCLA — but he struggled to gain traction upon turning pro in 2016.

Three years ago he did not have status on any tour and was working as a security guard at a nightclub. But he used conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour to finish 13th in the season-long standings in 2023, and claim his PGA Tour card for this season.

He tied for third at the Farmers Insurance Open last month, and was T28 at the WM Phoenix Open. Then he followed up his opening-round 67 at Vidanta with a 64 on Friday and a 63 on Saturday, taking a four-shot lead over Valimaki into the final round. Only three players were within seven shots of the lead.

Knapp, No. 125 in the world per DataGolf.com, stumbled out of the gate with bogeys on Nos. 1 and 3, though, and quickly found himself in a tie with Valimaki, who had a birdie and eagle on the front nine.

Knapp eventually steadied himself, gaining a stroke on his playing partner when he parred No. 13 and Valimaki bogeyed, and then giving himself another when he birdied on the Par-5 14th and Valimaki settled for par.

Knapp takes home $1.458 million for the win. He’ll be in the Masters and PGA Championship, as well as The Players Championship next month. He’s also now fully exempt through the 2026 PGA Tour season and will be in all signature events for the rest of this year.

(Photo of Jake Knapp: Hector Vivas / Getty Images)

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Hugh Kellenberger is the senior managing editor of The Athletic's golf group. A native of North Carolina, Kellenberger previously served as sports editor and columnist for the Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion Ledger. He first covered Ole Miss for the paper, and in the past has covered Indiana for the Bloomington Herald-Times and the ACC for the Rocky Mount Telegram. Follow Hugh on Twitter @ KellenbergerCBB