Ten players to watch at Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance

NEWBURGH, Ind. – It’s known as the "Greatest Week in Sports," and for good reason.

Thirty PGA TOUR cards will be finalized after this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, marking the realization of lifelong dreams.

The Korn Ferry Tour season finale is contested at Victoria National Golf Club outside Evansville, Indiana, a 1998 Tom Fazio design which plays to par 72, measures 7,265 yards and has hosted Korn Ferry Tour competition since 2012. Victoria National is known for sprawling fairways, multi-tiered greens and penalizing fescue. The venue also features dramatic sight lines that exude a major-caliber feel, epitomized on the par-4 18th hole, with an elevated tee and sharply left-to-right curving fairway – with water down the entire right side. For those who need a closing par to secure a PGA TOUR card, the task will require two high-level golf shots under maximum pressure.

Sixteen players have mathematically secured a PGA TOUR card leading into the season finale, meaning 14 TOUR cards are available this week in southern Indiana. Only the top 75 on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Points List are eligible to compete; the field will feature 73 players (Grayson Murray and Nicholas Lindheim, both safely inside the top 30, will not compete). The 72-hole event will feature no cut. Click here for a full breakdown of this week's stakes.

Each Korn Ferry Tour Championship participant has secured full 2024 Korn Ferry Tour status and will have a mathematical chance to move inside the top 30 at Victoria National. For those who finish outside the top 30, there’s a second chance at a TOUR card – for the first time since 2012, PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry will offer five TOUR cards (and ties) later in the fall.

Who’s positioned to make a run at the final title of the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season? Here are 10 players to watch at the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

1. Tom Whitney: The stage is set. The Air Force alum has played pro golf for nearly a decade and enters the season finale at No. 17 on the Points List, having all but secured his first TOUR card. Whitney, 34, has notched six top-10s this season, including two top-threes, to move to the brink of the TOUR.

2. Adrien Dumont de Chassart: The Belgian won his first Korn Ferry Tour start at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in June, fresh off a sparkling collegiate career at Illinois that earned him the No. 3 spot on the PGA TOUR University Ranking, and he hasn’t cooled off much. He has notched seven top-25s in just 10 starts.

3. Norman Xiong: The Oregon alum (who embraces a “panda” moniker) was named the country’s top collegiate golfer in 2018, and he has persevered through early-career struggles to cement his first TOUR card with a victory at last month’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. Xiong can now free-wheel around Victoria National, a track that the power hitter should find to his liking.

4. Jake Knapp: The effusive Californian has been the hallmark of consistency this season, recording 14 top-25 finishes in 21 starts, including a fifth-place showing at the recent Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. His TOUR card is secure too. All that’s missing is a victory.

5. Chris Gotterup: The 2022 Jack Nicklaus Award winner (top collegiate golfer) has fit the bill as a pro, making 20 cuts in 23 starts this season, including 13 top-25s. He’s No. 25 on the Points List into the season finale, one more steady showing away from securing his first TOUR card.

6. Max Greyserman: The Duke alum is headed to the PGA TOUR on the strength of a season with 10 top-25s in 23 starts, including two runner-up showings. He’s fresh off a solo sixth at the Nationwide and can play pressure-free around an oft-penal Victoria National layout.

7. Joey Garber: The Michigan native delivered when it mattered most, notching back-to-back top-12 finishes in September to rise from No. 95 to No. 68 on the Points List and earn his spot at the season finale. He missed his TOUR card by fractions of a position at last year’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship, and he’ll be hungry to rewrite his narrative at Victoria National.

8. Ben Kohles: The wily veteran enters the week at No. 1 on the season-long standings, and there’s plenty to play for, as No. 1 after this week will be fully exempt on the 2024 PGA TOUR and qualify for THE PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open. Kohles has won twice this season and has accrued 10 top-25s in 22 starts.

9. Chan Kim: The eight-time Japan Golf Tour winner has found a groove on the Korn Ferry Tour this summer, winning in back-to-back weeks at the Magnit Championship and Albertsons Boise Open in August. He’s second on the Points List, behind only Kohles, with a fighting shot at the No. 1 position and all its laurels.

10. Josh Teater: The Kentucky native begins the week at No. 34 on the Points List, vying to crack the all-important top 30, and he’s fresh off a T7 at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. Teater, 44, has faced abundant pressure situations in his career and will look to draw on those.