FAMOUS Five

These five Korn Ferry Tour graduates compel a closer watch in the season ahead.

- PAUL HODOWANIC

The Korn Ferry Tour season concluded in October, with 20 players earning PGA TOUR cards for the 2026 season.

Prognosticating who will do well and who will struggle is a fool's errand. Every season, there are surprises in either direction. Tim Widing finished fifth on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List a year ago and was a popular pick for further success. He's currently 207th in the FedExCup standings.

So instead of predicting future success, let's analyse which of the 20 graduates will be the most compelling to follow as they jump from the Korn Ferry Tour to the PGA TOUR.

1. JOHNNY KEEFER

Johnny Keefer narrowly slipped into the PGA TOUR pipeline, but he’s left no doubt of his merit since then. He has become the third player to win both the Jack Nicklaus Award as the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year, as well as 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year in the same season.

Keefer topped the Fortinet Cup points list in 2024 after he was the last player to receive any status through the 2024 PGA TOUR University program, quickly dispelling any notion he didn’t belong. His domination continued on the Korn Ferry Tour, where Keefer won twice this year and once again led the season-long points race.

That has earned Keefer plenty of worthy hype. The Baylor graduate climbed all the way to No. 51 in the Official World Golf Ranking despite playing only three career PGA TOUR starts. If he receives any sponsor exemptions during the FedExCup Fall, Keefer could potentially qualify for the Masters before his rookie year has begun.

The 24-year-old displayed an incredibly well-rounded game in his lone Korn Ferry Tour season, finishing fourth in Total Driving, boasting an average distance of 320 yards. He ranked 15th in greens in regulation, second in scrambling, and 10th in putting average.