The PGA Tour unveiled Wednesday the competitors schedule for the 2027 Korn Ferry Tour season, also recognized as the best Korn Ferry Tour season ever.
The match lineup – 25 occasions, including 4 Finals tournaments, in seven completely different international locations and 15 states – is comparatively unchanged from this 12 months. The Federal Club in Glen Allen, Virginia, will return as the host of the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship, while the first three postseason begins are still Franklin, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; and Owasso, Oklahoma.
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Ten tournaments will be broadcast on Golf Channel, including the first two occasions in the Bahamas, the first of which begins Jan. 17.
New to the schedule is the Chile Open, called the 97 Scotiabank Abierto de Chile, which will be contested March 4-7 at Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago, Chile.
The purses for regular-season occasions stay $1 million while the Finals occasions each boast $1.5 million purses. However, there is more reward this season than just money.
Why is this the best Korn Ferry Tour season ever? A 12 months after only the high 20 factors finishers graduated to the PGA Tour – and without initial signature-event standing – the high 40 finishers in 2027 will obtain some type of promotion.
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The high 10 will graduate to the Championship Series, the PGA Tour’s high tier, in 2028, while the next 30 finishers will earn full Challenger standing.
KFT president Alex Baldwin dubbed the 2027 season the “most competitive” in the tour’s historical past.
“This reinforces our mission to identify, prepare, and transition the game’s next generation of stars as these players emerge on the PGA Tour,” Baldwin added.
Such potential perks helped soften the blow for KFT members who stored full KFT standing in 2026 but missed out on the high 20.
“Even if you’re not on the PGA Tour next year, it’s a great opportunity,” said James Nicholas, who completed thirtieth in factors this season.
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Other gamers observe that they’d like to see more alternatives given to KFT members in 2027. The Challenger membership will also embrace Nos. 91-175 from the PGA Tour, while KFT gamers who do not earn one of 40 PGA Tour playing cards will, in their eyes, primarily be demoted.
It’s unclear how many gamers will keep full KFT standing in 2028, though those that do will discover themselves enjoying on the tour’s third tier, not the second tier that the KFT presently occupies.
“To be honest, I’m pretty disappointed with the decisions that they made for the qualifications for entry into 2028,” said veteran Matt Atkins, who ended up No. 68 in KFT factors. “I think it’s borderline absurd to think that No. 41 out here is worse than No. 175 on the PGA Tour. That’s really diminishing the talent out here and who should be on PGA Tour Challenger. … It feels like they’re not sending enough guys up.”
Currently, Vince Whaley is No. 175 in FedExCup factors. Drew Nesbitt completed No. 41 in KFT factors this 12 months. Whaley is ranked No. 243 in the Official World Golf Ranking, 23 spots worse than Nesbitt, who by in massive performed in weaker fields this 12 months.
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Atkins added that he would not believe No. 175 on the PGA Tour is unworthy of Challenger standing: “The Korn Ferry is the PGA Tour overflow, not a developmental tour. There’s plenty of talent, just not enough space.”
There will, however, be other alternatives for those outside the high 40 on the KFT next 12 months to earn PGA Tour standing for 2028. While full eligibility will be finalized next month, the high 10 finishers at ultimate stage of 2027 PGA Tour Q-School will get Challenger playing cards. One of the final-stage exemptions is ending in the high 75 on KFT factors.
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