This article is part of our Golf Draft Kit series.
A new crop of rookies are ready to join the PGA Tour by virtue of either finishing inside the Top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list or by being one of the Top 10 players (not otherwise exempt) on the season ending's DP World Tour Race to Dubai standings.
Below is a rundown of the first-year Tour players, ranked by 2025 projected earnings.
| Golfer | 2025 Projected | Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Matt McCarty | $4,000,000 | McCarty enters his rookie campaign with one PGA Tour win already credited to his name, having coasted to a three-shot triumph at the Black Desert Championship in October after earning a Three-Victory Promotion to the big leagues following a trio of Korn Ferry Tour wins in a short span from July's Price Cutter Charity Championship through August's Albertsons Boise Open. Given his late-summer dominance, he clinced the No. 1 spot on the KFT Points List, earning exemptions for the 2025 PLAYERS Championship and the U.S. Open. He also paced the KFT in putting average, scoring average, total birdies and consecutive cuts made this past season. |
| Rasmus Hojgaard | $3,150,000 | For the second year in a row a Hojgaard tops the Race to Dubai Top 10 eligibility rankings. Twin brother Nicolai got his PGA Tour card last year, while Rasmus was the first man out of that top-10. That could have broke him, but Hojgaard put his head down and had a fantastic season. The Dane racked up six top-5s and 14 top-25s. He also got his fifth DP World |
A new crop of rookies are ready to join the PGA Tour by virtue of either finishing inside the Top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list or by being one of the Top 10 players (not otherwise exempt) on the season ending's DP World Tour Race to Dubai standings.
Below is a rundown of the first-year Tour players, ranked by 2025 projected earnings.
| Golfer | 2025 Projected | Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Matt McCarty | $4,000,000 | McCarty enters his rookie campaign with one PGA Tour win already credited to his name, having coasted to a three-shot triumph at the Black Desert Championship in October after earning a Three-Victory Promotion to the big leagues following a trio of Korn Ferry Tour wins in a short span from July's Price Cutter Charity Championship through August's Albertsons Boise Open. Given his late-summer dominance, he clinced the No. 1 spot on the KFT Points List, earning exemptions for the 2025 PLAYERS Championship and the U.S. Open. He also paced the KFT in putting average, scoring average, total birdies and consecutive cuts made this past season. |
| Rasmus Hojgaard | $3,150,000 | For the second year in a row a Hojgaard tops the Race to Dubai Top 10 eligibility rankings. Twin brother Nicolai got his PGA Tour card last year, while Rasmus was the first man out of that top-10. That could have broke him, but Hojgaard put his head down and had a fantastic season. The Dane racked up six top-5s and 14 top-25s. He also got his fifth DP World Tour win at the Irish Open. Hojgaard is one of the longest hitters out there and he also ranked top-20 in SG: Approach and SG: Putting. That is a strong combination of skills that should lead him to success right away as a rookie on the PGA Tour. |
| Frankie Capan III | $1,900,000 | Capan's 2024 campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour was highlighted by a win at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in late November, but he also fired a 13-under 58 in the first round of the Veritex Bank Championship en route to a fourth-place finish back in April. The 25-year-old Minnesota native made the cut in 19 of 25 starts, posting seven top-10s and 12 top-25s in the process. Capan also advanced to the weekend at the U.S. Open in June, notably gaining 7.8 strokes with his short game at Pinehurst. |
| Steven Fisk | $1,700,000 | Fisk rebounded from three consecutive missed cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour early in the 2024 season with a win at the Club Car Championship in early April, which preceded a pair of runner-up efforts at the LECOM Suncoast Classic and the Memorial Health Championship. He finished the year with six top-10s and 11 top-25s across 22 starts, while also pacing the entire KFT in GIR percentage at 77.6 percent. Fisk made his PGA Tour debut in late November at The RSM Classic, racking up 16 birdies and an eagle on the way to a T49 result. |
| Ricky Castillo | $1,640,000 | Castillo led the University of Florida to a national championship title in 2023 before winning his Korn Ferry Tour debut, but he now earns PGA Tour status for the first time thanks to his 26th-place finish in the KFT's 2024 Points List, having notched four top-10s across 25 starts this year. He tied for second at the Magnit Championship in mid-August, and he ultimately ranked fifth among the KFT in total driving and ninth in par-5 scoring. |
| Niklas Norgaard | $1,590,000 | Norgaard plays a bomb and gouge game and that will play just fine on a lot of PGA Tour setups. The Dane also got extremely hot with the putter the second half of the DP World Tour season gaining strokes on the greens in eight of his last nine starts. During that stretch he picked up his first career victory at the British Masters and totaled five top-20 finishes. If Norgaard can be solid with the scoring clubs in his hands, the tools are there for him to have a pretty good rookie season on the PGA Tour. |
| Thomas Rosenmueller | $1,550,000 | The 27-year-old German finished ninth on the Korn Ferry Tour's 2024 Points List thanks in large part to a Win-T5-T5 stretch from a victory at late July's NV5 Invitational through the Pinnacle Bank Championship in August. He tacked on two more top-5s to close out his season at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship and the Korn Ferry Tour Championship this fall. Rosenmueller ultimately ranked top-5 among his peers in scrambling, par-4 scoring average and consecutive cuts made (8). |
| Tim Widing | $1,500,000 | The 27-year-old Swede found his groove on the Korn Ferry Tour in late April when he notched back-to-back victories at the LECOM Suncoast Classic and the Veritex Bank Championship, playing these eight rounds in a collective 51-under-par. Widinng would finish the 2024 KFT season with six top-10s and 10 top-25s across 22 starts, notably ranking top-10 in total driving, par-4 scoring and birdie average. He also made the cut at the U.S. Open in June, finishing seventh among the field in SG: Off-the-Tee. |
| Karl Vilips | $1,475,000 | Vilips is set to become a 23-year-old rookie on the PGA Tour after winning the Korn Ferry Tour's Utah Championship in early August on the heels of a runner-up effort at the NV5 Invitational one week prior. The Stanford University product managed to finish 19th on the KFT's 2024 Points List despite making only 10 total starts, placing top-25 in seven of the 10 events. He ranked third among his KFT peers in driving distance and seventh in putting average, though he hit just 56.94 percent of the fairways in regulation. |
| Thriston Lawrence | $1,450,000 | Lawrence really introduced himself to the world with his play at the Open Championship. The South African was in the mix all weekend at Royal Troon and showed that he has a lot of game. Lawrence will now get the chance to play full-time on the PGA Tour after a tremendous season on the DP World Tour in 2024 where he racked up 11 top-12 finishes. Lawrence is a solid player across the board, but in paticular on the greens. Last season he ranked second in SG: Putting and ninth in putts per GIR. Apart from his solo fourth at the Open, Lawrence played in five PGA Tour events but only made the cut in one of them, so there is a bit of reason for concern on how his game will translate. |
| Tom McKibbin | $1,400,000 | McKibbin is a player that many are excited to see. The 22-year-old Northern Irishman is from the same area as Rory McIlroy and had a stretch his countryman would be proud of racking up 11 top-25s in 13 starts. In total last season, McKibbin notched 11 top-12 finishes and gained strokes off the tee in every single measured start. That driving ability is going to be a weapon on the PGA Tour, and the fact that he ended 2024 gaining strokes in six of his last seven starts on the greens was encouraging to see as well. It's still important to remember that playing in the U.S. is going to be a big adjustment for a young player like McKibbin, but all the tools are there. |
| William Mouw | $1,350,000 | Mouw didn't make a single PGA Tour start in 2024 after notching a top-15 result at the 2023 John Deere Classic, but he racked up a trio of runner-up finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour this past season, ultimately landing 10th on the Points List. He also ranked seventh in scoring average and 20th in driving distance. The 24-year-old Pepperdine University product was a key member of the 2021 National Championship team, earning All-West Region honors as a sophomore. |
| Quade Cummins | $1,300,000 | Nobody recorded more top-25 finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024 than Cummins, who racked up 14 such results across 25 starts, highlighted by a runner-up effort in The Bahamas back in late January. The 28-year-old University of Oklahoma product struggled with his driver this past season, but he ranked second among his KFT peers in both putting average and total birdies. |
| Isaiah Salinda | $1,250,000 | Salinda opened his 2024 campaign with a victory at the Korn Ferry Tour's Panama Championship where he won by eight shots, and he would go on to collect eight more top-25s before landing 18th on the final Points List. He utlimately paced the entire KFT in total driving this year, while also ranking top-15 among his peers in GIR percentage and birdie average. Salinda also made the cut at the U.S. Open in June, tying for 32nd at Pinehurst. |
| Antoine Rozner | $1,200,000 | Rozner used a late charge with finishes of 4th-T6-T3 in his last three starts to move up the Race to Dubai standings and earn a PGA Tour card for 2025. Rozner is a master iron player who was second on the DPWT in SG: Approach. The key for him will be the putter as he had a stretch in the middle of the season where he lost strokes in 11 of 14 starts, and many of them were by a signficant amount. Nevertheless, it's rare for the top iron players on the PGA Tour to have bad seasons, so if Rozner can keep cooking on approach he should be in for a solid rookie campaign. |
| Matteo Manassero | $1,150,000 | One of the great amateurs of this century looked like he was destined to be one of the top European players in the world for years after a great start to his professional career. Manassero went into a major slump about five years ago, however, and has been trying to dig his way back ever since. After earning his DP World Tour card back with two wins on the Challenge Tour in 2023, Manassero has now earned a PGA Tour card after his great performance in 2024. The Italian got back in the win column at the Jonsson Workwear Open which was one of five top-5s 13 top-25s on the year. Manassero's short game and iron play will be something to lean on when he gets out to the PGA Tour after ranking top-10 in both SG: Approach and SG: Around-the-Green. |
| Jesper Svensson | $1,100,000 | Svensson had five top-5 finishes on the DP World Tour last season and closed with a T7 at the DP World Tour Championship to secure a PGA Tour card for 2025. The Swede won for the first time on the DPWT last March at the Singapore Classic. Svensson is one of the longest drivers out there and also showed solid touch ranking top-40 in scrambling and SG: Putting. Given his length and ability to find some hot putting weeks, he will probably be able to notch a couple high finishes even if the overall consistency isn't there. |
| Jackson Suber | $1,025,000 | Suber followed his made cut at the U.S. Open in June with back-to-back top-3 finishes at the Korn Ferry Tour's Compliance Solutions Championship and the Memorial Health Championship, ultimately guiding him to a 20th-place position in the final Points List to earn a PGA Tour card for the first time at 25 years old. The Ole Miss product racked up 10 top-25s across 24 starts on the KFT in 2024, ranking third among his peers in putting average, second in birdie average and 12th in par-3 scoring. |
| John Pak | $975,000 | Pak enjoyed an illustrious collegiate career at Florida State University where he won every player of the year award under the sun as a senior in 2021, finally earning a PGA Tour card for 2025 after winning the Korn Ferry Tour's Compliance Solutions Championship back in June. The 25-year-old notched only one other top-10 on the KFT in 2024, but he ranked top-20 among his peers in GIR percentage, driving accuracy and scrambling. |
| Paul Waring | $960,000 | Waring locked up a PGA Tour card for 2025 with a victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He was able to fend off the likes of Tyrrell Hatton and Rory McIlroy for his second DP World Tour victory at age 39. Waring ended the year with 12 top-25 finishes on the season. What really stuck out the second half of the year was his ball-striking improvements. Waring gained strokes on approach in eight of his last ten events and off the tee in eight of his last nine. It's unlikely that the Englishman comes out and lights the world on fire as a PGA Tour rookie, but there is certainly some encouraging things to look at. |
| Danny Walker | $950,000 | Walker becomes a PGA Tour cardholder for the first time after racking up 10 top-25s in 25 total starts throughout the Korn Ferry Tour's 2024 campaign, ultimately landing 28th on the final Points List. His season was highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Pinnacle Bank Championship in August, which preceded four consecutive top-25s from the Magnit Championship to the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. Walker ended the year ranked 26th or better on the KFT in each of total driving, GIR percentage and putting average. |
| Rikuya Hoshino | $880,000 | Hoshino got off to a hot start to the DP World Tour season posting a pair of runner-up finishes in Australia before grabbing his first DPWT win in February at the Qatar Masters. His results the rest of 2024 were pretty inconsistent, but he still did rack up four more top-10 finishes to notch a PGA Tour card for 2025. Hoshino did gain strokes across the board last season, but his highest ranking in any category was 31st in SG: Around-the-Green. |
| Braden Thornberry | $750,000 | A former collegiate All-American at Ole Miss where he won the 2017 Haskins Award, Thornberry is finally slated to embark on his PGA Tour journey as a 27-year-old rookie in 2025 after winning the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in early October. He posted only two top-10s across 25 KFT starts in 2024, but he ranked seventh in putting average and 16th in total birdies. Thornberry will now look to qualify for his first major championship since a missed cut at the 2018 U.S. Open. |
| Aldrich Potgieter | $725,000 | The South African becomes a PGA Tour rookie at just 20 years old, having won the Korn Ferry Tour's Great Abaco Classic as a 19-year-old back in January of 2024 before ultimatley finishing the KFT season with three top-10s and five top-25s. Potgieter paced the entire KFT in driving distance while ranking fourth in total eagles, though he needs to make improvements with his short game in order to find similar success at the next level. |
| Taylor Dickson | $700,000 | Two of Dickson's five top-10s on the Korn Ferry Tour were wins this past season, emerging victorious at both the Astara Chile Classic in March and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open in June. The 32-year-old also impressively made the cut in 21 of 23 KFT starts, and he advanced to the weekend during his PGA Tour debut en route to a solo-69th at the Myrtle Beach Classic in May. |
| Kevin Velo | $650,000 | Velo birdied the first playoff hole to emerge victorious at the Korn Ferry Tour's Astara Golf Championship back in February, ultimately earning a PGA Tour card for the first time after landing 15th on the KFT's 2024 Points List. The 27-year-old San Jose State University product missed only five cuts across 24 outings, while notably ranking top-10 among his peers in both scrambling and total birdies. However, Velo finished the season outside the top-80 in driving distance and GIR percentage. |
| Cristobal Del Solar | $625,000 | The 31-year-old Chilean made the cut in just his second career PGA Tour appearance this past March, tying for 48th at the Mexico Open at Vidanta where he gained three strokes from tee to green. Del Solar's 2024 Korn Ferry Tour campaign was even more successful, notably winning The Ascendant in mid-July en route to a 14th-place finish on the Points List. He notched six top-10s across 24 starts at the KFT level, highlighted by a solo-fifth at the Astara Golf Championship in February when he fired a 13-under 57 in Round 1. |
| Jeremy Paul | $615,000 | The 30-year-old German won the season-opening Great Exuma Classic in The Bahamas to begin his 2024 Korn Ferry Tour campaign, in which he ultimately finished 21st on the Points List to secure a PGA Tour card for the first time. Paul made the cut in 18 of 25 KFT outings this past season, while ranking 20th in GIR percentage and 18th in birdie average. However, total driving remains a concern for Paul at the next level. |
| Paul Peterson | $600,000 | Peterson made his first PGA Tour appearance since 2019 at The RSM Classic in late November, banking a top-25 finish while ranking fourth among the field at Sea Island in SG: Putting. This quality result came after landing 17th on the Korn Ferry Tour's 2024 Points List, having notched seven top-25s across 26 total starts, including a win at the Simmons Bank Open in mid-September. He'll be a 36-year-old rookie on the PGA Tour in 2025, profiling as an accurate driver and solid putter. |
| Mason Andersen | $575,000 | Andersen, a Chandler, AZ native who stayed home to play his collegiate golf at Arizona State University, became a Korn Ferry Tour champion in 2024 with a playoff win over Kris Ventura at the Argentina Open back in early March. He would ultimately finish the season with four top-10s and eight top-25 across 24 starts, though he ranked outside the top-80 in both total driving and GIR percentage on the KFT. |
| Noah Goodwin | $570,000 | The 24-year-old SMU product earned the 30th and final PGA Tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour's 2024 Points List, closing out his campaign with six top-10s and 10 top-25s across 23 total starts. Goodwin converted 68 percent of his scrambling opportunities to rank sixth in this category on the KFT, though he also ranked top-25 in total driving and par-4 scoring. |
| Kaito Onishi | $550,000 | Onishi finished dead last in his lone PGA Tour start of 2024 at the ZOZO Championship in late October, but that won't keep him from enjoying his rookie status in 2025 after becoming a Korn Ferry Tour champion this past June at the UNC Health Championship. The Japanese-born 26-year-old ranked 94th or worse on the KFT in GIR percentage, total driving and putting average, however. |
