JACKSON TOWNSHIP, N.J.—The aspirations of those seeking fame and fortune at the elite level in men’s professional golf is a storyline few truly appreciate. The headlines and the lion’s share of attention gravitate to those star players the public is most aware of, with such names as Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, and Bryson DeChambeau leading the way.
Stars such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson remain a focal point given the significant records produced in the sport. But each is now moving into a closer kinship with the word “past” rather than present.
PGA Tour membership is the ultimate stage—the grand platform where players compete for the best trophy hardware and the pathway to unimaginable financial success. The FedEx Cup Playoffs begin Thursday, and the payout for the winner at the final event of The Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta is $25 million of the $100 million FedExCup Playoffs pool. The second-place finish gets $12.5 million, and everyone in the top 10 gets a payday of at least $1.75 million.
Unlike team sports—where expenses are covered—the pathway to stardom in professional golf can be a long and trying pursuit. Staying the course—no pun intended—can place a major strain on individuals and their families.
Traveling from place to place with no guarantees becomes the ultimate crapshoot. As scores are posted, the dreams of what can be can quickly evaporate. Those who continue onward take heart that the next week will be the time and place when their ascension will finally emerge. For many—that day will never arrive.
Nothing better exemplifies that than the weekly toils seen on the Korn Ferry Tour—the minor leagues for PGA Tour membership. Those competing this week in New Jersey at the Metedeconk National Golf Club in the Magnit Championship are fully aware of the stakes involved. How their performances will set in motion—both upwards and downwards—a reality each competitor is fully aware of in terms of the consequences involved.
Following the conclusion of the Magnit Championship, the top 156 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List will qualify for the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron, the first of four Korn Ferry Tour Finals events.
There are 20 players ranked 156th or lower on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List in the field this week who are attempting to earn a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. At the end of the 26-event Korn Ferry Tour season, the top 30 players on the season-long Points List earn PGA TOUR cards for the 2025 season.
Undoubtedly, for those fortunate enough to move onward and upward, the time spent on the Korn Ferry Tour will be viewed as a natural progression in seeking the greatest competitive connection. But many more will find their respective pathways reach a dead-end conclusion.
The Korn Ferry Tour features players from many different countries, including those who have garnered success in other arenas from standout collegiate careers and those previously on the PGA Tour and are now seeking a return to the mix.
But the Korn Ferry Tour is about the constant desires of a new generation of players.
Through 21 events this season, there are 15 first-time Korn Ferry Tour winners, as well as 15 wins by players in their 20s and one win by a teenager (Aldrich Potgieter). Last season, there were just 10 first-time winners and 12 wins by players in their 20s.
The four-event Koryn Ferry Tour Finals concludes the season-long points race, with 30 PGA Tour cards awarded after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing and Finance. There are reduced fields for each of the four Korn Ferry Tour Finals events (156, 144, 120, and 75 players), with eligibility into each tournament determined by the cumulative points list entering that event.
Elite professional golf is not for the faint-hearted. Like all sports, the bar towards ultimate rewards is a never-ending climb where, like any mountain climber, the perils are always nearby.
Staying afloat in such arenas is a delicate high-wire balancing act split between continued belief one can succeed and the other a delusional denial that can falsely keep players believing a career-defining moment is ahead when only continued toil in the shadows is likely to happen.
The format of professional golf is a global traveling circus. In years past, a few countries provided the bulk of players, with the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa being the main providers for the talent pool.
That scene has dramatically shifted, with other countries—notably from Asia, with South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and China making marked improvements. Players have also emerged from India and parts of South America.
The Korn Ferry Tour is a finely tuned structure. The haphazard nature of past shabby “minor league” professional events is now gone. But the realities are nonetheless still ever present—a clear demarcation between those able to continue onward and those who must take a final detour.
Pro golf at the elite level is akin to the player holding the dice at a crap game. Every roll of the dice produces outcomes—with far-reaching and often far-lasting consequences.
A young Tiger Woods posted in his bedroom the career highlights of Jack Nicklaus. Woods sought to be the best in his sport and was able to do that.
This week’s Magnit Championship will not receive the television exposure one sees with weekly PGA Tour events. The names will not register for most golf fans, but the talent level demonstrated is a clear example of how professional golf is rapidly changing and how the competitive bar is only being pushed higher and higher. The results from the event in New Jersey could be the catalyst for future stardom and a lasting legacy in golf. Make no mistake about it: the flipside of the coin will have equal consequences.
When dreams come true and when they don’t: That is the landscape for the men playing this week at Metedeconk National.
