The Korn Ferry Tour Finals is a series of four golf tournaments that conclude the season on the Korn Ferry Tour. The finals are contested in a playoff format, similar to the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour, with players eliminated after each of the first three tournaments. At the end of the Finals, the top 30 players on the season-long points list earn PGA Tour membership for the following season ("Tour cards").
From 2013 to 2022, the Finals were conducted in a very different format, as a separate entity from the tour's regular season. The top 75 players from the Korn Ferry Tour, along with players who failed to make the top 125 on the PGA Tour that same season, competed in a series of three or four tournaments. The top 25 players based on points earned in the Finals alone earned PGA Tour cards for the following season. The series was established as a replacement for the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in 2013.
Tournaments
In 2023, the first year of the new format, the Finals consisted of the following four tournaments:[1]
| Tournament | Location | Number of competitors |
|---|---|---|
| Albertsons Boise Open | Boise, Idaho | 156 |
| Simmons Bank Open | College Grove, Tennessee | 144 |
| Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | Columbus, Ohio | 120 |
| Korn Ferry Tour Championship | Newburgh, Indiana | 75 |
Each event has an enhanced purse of US$1,500,000 and awards more points than the standard Korn Ferry Tour event. The first three events feature a standard tour cut rules, while the Tour Championship does not have a cut.[1]
From 2019 through 2022, under the original format, the Finals consisted of only three tournaments, as the Simmons Bank Open was not part of the series. Prior to that, the Finals had been a series of four tournaments from its inception in 2013.[2]
Tournaments that were previously part of the Tour Finals:
- DAP Championship in Beachwood, Ohio from 2016-2018[3]
- Hotel Fitness Championship in Fort Wayne, Indiana from 2013-2015
- Small Business Connection Championship in Davidson, North Carolina from 2013-2015
Qualification
The top 156 players in the Korn Ferry Tour points system through the end of the regular season qualify for the first Finals event. The number of participants is reduced each week of the Finals based on the season-long points ranking. However, in the first three Finals events, players ranked below the cutoff may be able to play if eligible players do not take part.[1]
Under the format in place from 2013 to 2022, there were four ways to qualify for the Finals:[4]
- Finish in the top-75 on the Korn Ferry Tour's regular season standings (money list from 2013 to 2018, points from 2019).
- Finish the PGA Tour's regular season ranked 126–200 on the FedEx Cup points list. Not all players with this criterion competed, as some were already exempt for the PGA Tour the next year through other means.
- As a non-member of the PGA Tour, earn enough FedEx Cup points to place 126–200 on the points list.
- Special medical exemptions.[5]
Tour cards
In 2013, the top-25 on the regular season Web.com Tour money list were guaranteed PGA Tour cards regardless of their performance in the Finals and the Finals determine their priority ranking. Money earned in the four Finals events determined the remaining 25 PGA Tour cards. The leading money winners on the regular season Web.com Tour money list and the Finals money list were fully exempt on the PGA Tour; the remaining 48 players were ranked for PGA Tour priority purposes based on their Finals earnings.[4] In addition, the money leaders in both the regular season and the Finals received places in the following year's Players Championship.
In 2014 the determination of the priority ranking changed. The top 25 from the regular season money list carried their earnings to the Finals, competing among themselves for priority. The top 25 earners in the Finals only, not including the top 25 from the regular season, again earned PGA Tour cards. The priority rankings were then determined be a "zipper method" with the top 25 in combined regular and Finals earnings taking rankings 1, 3, 5, ... and the top 25 from the Finals taking rankings 2, 4, 6, ...[6][7]
Those who win their third event of the season during the finals are also fully exempt on the PGA Tour. Players who finish in the top 50 on the Finals list and Top 75 on the regular season standings also are guaranteed full Korn Ferry Tour status for the next season. The remainder will either attempt to regain their cards through Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School or make use of limited PGA Tour status if available.
Criticism
One unintended consequence of the change in Q school is that more amateurs are turning professional earlier in the year (June instead of August) in order to have a better chance at earning a PGA Tour card through high finishes via sponsors' exemptions.[8]
Winners
Tournament winners
| Year | Albertsons Boise Open | Simmons Bank Open | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | Korn Ferry Tour Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 |  Chan Kim | Grayson Murray | Norman Xiong |  Paul Barjon |
| Year | Albertsons Boise Open | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | Korn Ferry Tour Championship | |
| 2022 | Will Gordon |  David Lingmerth | Justin Suh | |
| 2021 | Greyson Sigg | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Adam Svensson | Joseph Bramlett | |
| Year | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | Albertsons Boise Open | Korn Ferry Tour Championship | |
| 2019 | Scottie Scheffler | Matthew NeSmith |  Tom Lewis | |
| Year | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | DAP Championship | Albertsons Boise Open | Web.com Tour Championship |
| 2018 | Robert Streb | Kramer Hickok |  Bae Sang-moon | Denny McCarthy |
| Year | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | Albertsons Boise Open | DAP Championship | Web.com Tour Championship |
| 2017 | Peter Uihlein | Chesson Hadley (2/2) | Nicholas Lindheim | Jonathan Byrd |
| Year | DAP Championship | Albertsons Boise Open | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | Web.com Tour Championship |
| 2016 | Bryson DeChambeau | Michael Thompson | Grayson Murray | Canceled* |
| Year | Hotel Fitness Championship | Small Business Connection Championship/Chiquita Classic | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | Web.com Tour Championship |
| 2015 | Henrik Norlander | Chez Reavie | Andrew Loupe |  Emiliano Grillo |
| 2014 | Bud Cauley | Adam Hadwin | Justin Thomas | Derek Fathauer |
| 2013 |  Trevor Immelman | Andrew Svoboda | Noh Seung-yul | Chesson Hadley (1/2) |
*Tournament canceled due to Hurricane Matthew
Money/points leaders
Bolded golfers received full exemptions for the PGA Tour not subject to re-order. In 2013, golfers who led the regular season money list and the Finals money list received full exemptions.[9] Since 2014, golfers who led the overall money list and the Finals money list received full exemptions.[10] Points replaced money beginning in 2019.
References
- 1 2 3 "How it works: Korn Ferry Tour Finals". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- ↑ "PGA Tour announces 2019 Web.com Tour schedule". Golf Canada. September 20, 2018.
- ↑ Warsinskey, Tim (December 7, 2015). "Web.com Tour championship coming to Canterbury, affiliated with LeBron James charity". cleveland.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
- 1 2 "Eligibility for the 2013 Web.com Tour Finals". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ↑ "Field study: Web.com Tour Finals". PGA Tour. August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ↑ "Eligibility for the 2014 Web.com Tour Finals". PGA Tour. June 1, 2014.
- ↑ Hoggard, Rex (May 30, 2014). "Major Web.com Tour Finals changes midway through season". Golf Channel.
- ↑ Herrington, Ryan (June 18, 2014). "Why so many top amateurs are turning pro this week – and the unintended consequence". Golf Digest.
- ↑ "Meet the graduates: 2013 Web.com Tour Finals top 50". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ↑ "Meet The 50: Who's headed to the PGA Tour for the 2014-15 season?". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.