Champions Sweep Thrilling Swing Championships

When Ludvig Aberg and Michael Thorbjornsen tee off in the final twosome Sunday at the Players Championship, they will share something in common—and it’s not just that they both chose Ponte Vedra Beach to be their home upon turning professional. Aberg and Thorbjornsen were the top graduates from the PGA Tour University program in 2023 and 2024, earning tour cards straight out of college (Texas Tech and Stanford, respectively) and giving them a solid foundation on which to begin their professional careers. Coincidence?

Perhaps. More likely, however, it’s a sign of validation for the six-year-old program that aims to provide pathways for successful college players while also rewarding those who remained in school (only college golfers in their fourth year of school are eligible for the benefits of the program each year. ) Prior to the program’s inception in 2020-21, college coaches and players had lamented that unlike professional team sports, where top talent is drafted into the highest level of play, All-American golfers all essentially had to start over again upon turning pro, needing to reestablish their bona vides before being able to compete on the PGA Tour.

In some cases, the road to success was quick and painless; in 2019, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff all earned PGA Tour membership less than a year after leaving school. But for others, it was bumpier. Enter Brendan Von Doehren, a former college golf coach and senior director at the PGA Tour.

In consultation with college coaches and tour officials, Von Doehren got the conversation going on a plan back in 2017, with much discussion centered around how to build the proper ranking to fairly identify and reward the top players. The tour ultimately chose a variation of the World Amateur Golf Ranking that includes only college events from the previous two years as well as PGA Tour starts, including majors. Florida State’s John Pak finished first in the inaugural year of the program in 2021, with Texas’ Pierceson Coody coming out on top in 2022.