Former faculty star praises PGA Tour U program adjustments

The PGA Tour College program was initially designed to determine the most effective faculty gamers with a view to give them enjoying alternatives and exemptions on the PGA Tour’s second-tier excursions, just like the Korn Ferry Tour, PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

This system began in 2020, enabling high faculty seniors to earn standing on the above-mentioned Excursions in keeping with their rating. However recently-announced modifications to this system have now made it doable for PGA Tour U’s high participant to earn immediate PGA Tour membership, and even gives a pathway for underclassman to earn their approach on tour through a factors system. (Beginning in 2024, gamers may even once more have the chance to earn a PGA Tour card through Q-Faculty.)

Given LIV Golf’s high-profile signing of top-ranked beginner gamers like Eugenio Chacarra and David Puig, many view the adjustments as a shrewd transfer by the PGA Tour in an effort to retain younger expertise.

Cole Hammer understands this first-hand. The 2-time Walker Cupper and College of Texas alum turned skilled in June after serving to the Longhorns win the 2022 NCAA Division I staff championship.

Hammer is presently competing on the Korn Ferry Tour, and on this week’s episode of Subpar, he informed hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz that he would have relished the chance to compete for a PGA Tour card in faculty — and it is going to be robust for LIV to provide you with an appropriate counter-offer for younger gamers.

“LIV must do one thing drastic to get these guys away from the PGA Tour U program,” Hammer stated. “Once I was a sophomore in faculty and somebody got here as much as me and informed me there was a PGA Tour card on the road in case you end No. 1 in your class your senior 12 months? I stayed already, however there’s no query in my thoughts that I might keep. And I’d do it 100 instances over. It’s too good of a possibility.

“I feel the PGA Tour’s actually good to do that, to fight — I don’t know if it’s immediately correlated with LIV or whatnot — however I feel it’s an excellent program that may undoubtedly persuade plenty of guys to remain.”

For extra from Hammer, together with what it was prefer to play within the U.S. Open at solely 15 years outdated, and the perks of staying at Texas for 4 years, take a look at the complete interview under.

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As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of feminine varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everybody on the masthead. She will be able to out-hustle them within the workplace, too, the place she’s primarily answerable for producing each print and on-line options, and overseeing main particular initiatives, reminiscent of GOLF’s inaugural Type Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview collection, “A Spherical With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in each within the journal and in video kind on GOLF.com.