The Korn Ferry Q-School finale quietly wrapped up, remaining in the background amidst the excitement of the Presidents Cup.
If you weren’t searching around for it, or one of the few who already knew that it was going on, you easily could’ve missed the fact that this season’s edition of the Korn Ferry Q-School is over.
The only reason I knew about it was from following Akshay Bhatia throughout the year to see how he did… which wasn’t that great.
The Korn Ferry Q-School finished up down at Winter Garden in Orange County, Florida, during the same time that the Presidents Cup was going on. Two men ended up tied at the top, and in a surprise to both of them, each received full status for the upcoming season of the Korn Ferry Tour.
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It didn’t look like it was going to be a tie though. Braden Thornberry had finished already, sitting at -23 for the event and in first place. Curtis Thompson sat 30 feet away on 18, needing a birdie to head into, what he thought at least, would be a playoff.
Thompson is no stranger to professional golf, and to high-stress golf either. He is actually the brother of LPGA great Lexi Thompson and has caddied for her during the 2019 season, taking the year off to do so to recoup.
It paid off for Thompson, as he was able to drain the 30-footer, finishing in a tie for the win with Braden Thornberry. There would be no playoff, instead, both men earned a full exemption for the upcoming season.
They aren’t the only ones who earned a bit of status for the upcoming season. The rest of the top ten plus ties will get entry into 12 events, while those who finished what amounts to 12th-40th will get into eight events.
Although it may not sound like much to get entry into eight events on the Korn Ferry Tour, it’s still a huge accomplishment to make it this far at Q-School. All those players need to do (yes, I know it isn’t an easy task), is to play well in the events that they are able to be entered in. They can earn further status from there. In fact, if they play well enough, it could earn them a status for next year, or even PGA Tour status.
The top 25 at the end of the year in the Korn Ferry standings earn that PGA Tour card. There are plenty of breakdowns after the top 25, which you can check out at the bottom of the page of a primer on how the Korn Ferry Finals work.
The Korn Ferry Tour will start back up in the Bahamas the week of January 12th, with the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at the Sandals Emerald Bay – Emerald Reef Course.