Meet the 20 Korn Ferry Tour graduates who have earned PGA Tour cards

Johnny Keefer heads the list of 20 Korn Ferry Tour players who have graduated to the PGA Tour following the season finale at French Lick.

Chandler Blanchet fired a 6-under 66 to claim a two-shot victory at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship on Sunday, while Pontus Nyholm held on to the 20th and final place in the rankings despite a poor finish.

Blanchet’s win in Indiana hoisted him to second in the final standings as he denied Barend Botha the victory he needed to oust Nyholm from the top 20.

Botha led going into the final round of the season only to stumbled to a closing 70, while Scotland’s Sandy Scott closed with a disappointing 74 to slip into a tie for eighth.

Scott also needed victory to earn a PGA Tour card, but he and Botha were both unable to deny Blanchet - much to the delight of Nyholm.

“It was a weird day because I knew what I had to do,” said the Swede. “I knew I had to pass Sudarshan (Yellamaraju) or Marty (Zecheng Dou) on the points for it to be in my own hands, otherwise it was gonna be up to Neal Shipley or Christo (Lamprecht) or Chandler (Blanchet) to get it done for me.”

Of the 20 graduates, a dozen of them will be PGA Tour rookies, while nine different countries will be represented by the top 20 qualifiers.

Blanchet was already certain of a card, but that didn’t diminish his delight at hoisting the silverware following his seven-birdie final round.

“I knew there was a Tour card coming at the end of the day, but this is just the cherry on top,” said Blanchet, who has made only three previous starts on the PGA Tour.

For the likes of Botha and Scott, they have one more chance to graduate as they head for the final stage of Qualifying School in a couple of months.

Five more PGA Tour cards will be on offer in the tournament, which will be played over the Dye Valley Course and Sawgrass Country Club from 11-14 December.