Michael Thorbjornsen sits atop the PGA Tour U rankings (Stanford Athletics)
The PGA Tour University is once again packed with talent chasing a PGA Tour card and various tour exemptions. The system is a way to help college golfers who are in their fourth or fifth year to compete for professional opportunities once they graduate. It’s the closest thing golf has to a draft.
Last year, Ludvig Aberg earned first place and parlayed it into the summer and fall of a lifetime. He won on the DP World Tour, helped Europe in the Ryder Cup, and then won on the PGA Tour.
This spring will see a tight race not just for the PGA Tour card that goes to the player that finished No. 1 in the rankings, but the top 20 get various exemptions to help them get started as professional golfers.
Here’s a quick run-down of what players receive at the end of the college season:
No. 1 ranked player - Earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the then-current season and will be exempt into all open, full-field Korn Ferry Tour events beginning the week following the conclusion of the NCAA Division-I National Championship through the end of the current Korn Ferry Tour regular season;
No 1 - 5: Earn conditional membership (as described below) on Korn Ferry Tour for the then-current season beginning the week following the conclusion of the NCAA Division-I National Championship through the end of the current season;
No. 6-10: Earn conditional membership (as described below) on Korn Ferry Tour for the then-current season beginning the week following the conclusion of the NCAA Division-I National Championship through the end of the current season;
No. 10-25: Earn membership on PGA TOUR Americas for the then-current season and will be exempt into all open, full-field Segment II – North America Swing events beginning the week following the conclusion of the NCAA Division-I National Championship through the end of the current PGA TOUR Americas season;
For the full list of rules, regulations, and exemptions, visit the
PGA Tour University website.
No. 1: Michael Thorbjornsen - Stanford
After missing the entire fall with a back injury, Thorbjornsen still holds the top spot, which he gained in May when this class’ rankings were released. He is the reigning Pac-12 champion and earned a spot on the PING All-America First Team. His two most recent counting results were a T11 in the Dubai Desert Classic in January and a 17th-place finish in the John Deere last July.
After the trip to Dubai, Thorbjornsen missed the NIT and will likely tee it up in the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii.
No. 2: Christo Lamprecht - Georgia Tech
The South African made quite a stir last summer when he won the British Amateur Championship and then led the Open Championship after the first round at Royal Liverpool. He won low amateur that week. Lamprecht played three events in the fall, recording a win in the Fighting Illini Invitational and a runner-up in the Ben Hogan Intercollegiate.
No. 3: Nick Gabrelcik - University of North Florida
Nick Gabrelcik Gabrelcik’s name is cemented into UNF’s history books. He holds the records for lowest 18-hole score, most wins, most top fives, most top tens, most rounds under par, and most rounds in the 60s. He’s won eight times in his college career and was the Phil Mickelson Award for his Freshman year. In his senior fall, Gabrelcik notched four top-seven finishes, including runner-ups in the Visit Knoxville Collegiate and the Williams Cup.
No. 4: William Moll - Vanderbilt
It seems like most Vanderbilt golfers play in the shadow of Gordon Sargent. The fifth-year senior from Texas made three starts in the fall, he recorded one top-10 finish (Valero Texas Collegiate). He also played well in the St. Andrews Links Collegiate, with a seventh-place finish. However, the event did not count toward the PGA Tour U rankings. 2024 started auspiciously for Moll, as he took ninth in the Australian Master of the Amateurs.
No. 5: Austin Greaser - University of North Carolina
The former U.S. Amateur runner-up and Western Amateur champion finds himself in the precarious fifth spot on the rankings. The Vandalia, Ohio native started off slowly last fall, but his results improved each week. He rounded out the fall with a third-place finish in UNC’s home event - The Williams Cup. Over his career with the Tar Heels, Greaser has the second-best scoring average in school history (71.21) along with two college wins (2021 Fighting Illini and 2022 NCAA Regional).
No. 6: Matthew Riedel - Vanderbilt
A second Vanderbilt player in the top six is more proof of their loaded roster. Riedel had a strong fall season with a 69.27 stroke average. A T5 in the Valero Texas Collegiate, and a T6 in the SEC Stroke Play highlighted the fall for the graduate student. He finished off the fall with a T14 in the Ben Hogan Classic.
No. 7: Maxwell Moldovan - Ohio State
Maxwell Moldovan The two-time U.S. Open qualifier is hoping for a hot spring season to move up the rankings. A fourth-place finish in the Hamptons Intercollegiate was the highlight of the senior’s fall. He never finished outside the top 15 in his three starts.
No. 8: Dylan Menante - University of North Carolina
The fifth-year season has had quite the college career. He won the national championship with Pepperdine in 2021 before transferring to UNC. The Carlsbad, Calif. native is no stranger to going low. He won the Northeast Amateur twice, breaking the tournament scoring record by four shots with a 19-under total. Last fall for the Tar Heels, Menante played in three events with his best finish a T3 in the Williams Cup. He’ll be hoping to dial up some low scores this spring as UNC chases a national title and he tries to climb up the rankings.
No. 9: Frederik Kjettrup - Florida State
So far in 2024, Kjettrup has played in one event that earned him PGA Tour U points - The Dubai Desert Classic. He missed the cut, but still moved up two spots in the February 7 rankings. The Seminoles will tee it up in the Amer Ari Invitational this week in a very strong field. Kjettrup was a 2023 PING All-American Honorable Mention selection. It was a quiet fall for Kjettrup, he played four competitive rounds and had a 68.75 stroke average. He finished T5 in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup in Texas.
No. 10: Cole Sherwood - Vanderbilt
Both Sherwood and Kjettrup were beneficiaries of Michael Brennan and Gustav Frimodt having relatively poor results in their first 2024 college events. Sherwood is the third Vanderbilt player in the top 10 of the PGA Tour U rankings. Sherwood won the Ben Hogan Invitational in the fall, and he played in all four Vanderbilt events averaging 69.73 strokes per round. In 2023 Sherwood was Second Team All-SEC and PING All-America Honorable Mention.