Austin Hitt wins Korn Ferry Tour Championship to secure PGA TOUR card

Austin Hitt arrived at The Federal Club in Glen Allen, Virginia, at No. 22 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list, two places short of a PGA TOUR card. He leaves as the winner of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, the last event of the season, and at No. 6 on the final list.

Hitt, 28, from Longwood, Florida, closed with a 5-under 66 on Sunday to finish on −20 (68-62-68-66), two shots clear of Blades Brown. His first Korn Ferry Tour win came in his 78th start and was worth $270,000 from a $1.5 million purse, Golfweek reported.

Birdie, birdie, eagle from the 8th

Hitt began the day one behind Brown and bogeyed the 1st. He got the shot back at the 2nd, then took control in three holes, with birdies at the 8th and 9th and an eagle at the 10th. Another birdie at the 14th put him 5 under for the round and three clear.

His second-round 62 was the week’s second-lowest score, beaten only by Brown’s 61 on Friday.

Final leaderboard

Pos	Player	Score	Rounds
1	Austin Hitt	−20	68-62-68-66
2	Blades Brown	−18	68-61-68-69
3	Alistair Docherty	−17	69-65-68-65
T4	Nick Gabrelcik	−16	70-67-66-65
T4	Kyle Westmoreland	−16	66-68-67-67
T6	Ian Holt	−15	64-66-71-68
T6	Cole Sherwood	−15	67-65-68-69
8	Davis Lamb	−14	67-68-67-68
T9	Alvaro Ortiz	−13	68-64-71-68
T9	Barend Botha	−13	65-65-69-72

Brown, 19, becomes the youngest to earn a card this way

Brown did not need the win. He started the week 14th on the points list and finished ninth, making him the youngest player to earn PGA TOUR status through the Korn Ferry Tour, Golfweek reported. He has now held four 54-hole leads or co-leads on the circuit without converting one.

The final top 20

The top 20 on the points list earn 2027 PGA TOUR cards. In final order: Ross Steelman, Sandy Scott, Ian Holt, Alistair Docherty, Alvaro Ortiz, Austin Hitt, Cole Sherwood, Doc Redman, Blades Brown, Tommy Morrison, Cooper Dossey, Hunter Eichhorn, Dylan Menante, Michael Johnson, Jeremy Gandon, Taylor Dickson, Ian Gilligan, Davis Shore, Carson Young and Davis Lamb.

Steelman took the No. 1 spot from Scott despite a closing 72 and a tie for 12th. Scott, who arrived on top after back-to-back wins, finished in a share of 43rd. Finishing No. 1 also brings starts in the 2027 Players Championship and U.S. Open.

Lamb claimed the last card. He started 23rd and closed with a 68 for outright eighth, enough to lift him to 20th.

Sugiura, Hammer and Kohles miss out

Yuta Sugiura, who shot 58 in Oklahoma a week earlier, started and finished the week 21st after a closing 72. Cole Hammer began the week 20th, shot 73 on Sunday and slipped to 22nd. Ben Kohles, 19th going into the week, was the only qualified player to skip the event, choosing the Baycurrent Classic in Japan instead, and dropped out of the top 20.

Barend Botha needed to finish outright second or better. He was two behind going into Sunday, closed with a 72 and finished joint ninth. Adam Hadwin needed to win but was given a two-stroke penalty in the first round for playing from the wrong place. He finished tied for 31st on −6.

Sources

• PGA TOUR: Korn Ferry Tour Championship official leaderboard
• PGA TOUR: Korn Ferry Tour points list
• PGA TOUR: Brown nears history with 54-hole lead at Korn Ferry Tour Championship
• PGA TOUR: Which players have most to gain Sunday at Korn Ferry Tour Championship?
• PGA TOUR: Austin Hitt player profile
• Yahoo Sports / Golfweek: Austin Hitt wins Korn Ferry Tour Championship, earns 2027 PGA Tour card
• Golf Channel: Needing win to earn PGA Tour card, Adam Hadwin docked 2 shots for relief error
• PGA TOUR: Kohles bets on FedExCup Fall for Tour card, skips Korn Ferry Tour Championship