2025-26 대학 골프 시즌이 3개월을 남기고 있다. 벤 제임스가 지난 7월 프리시즌 1순위부터 계속 1위를 지키고 있으며, 투어 카드 획득을 향한 대학 골프 최고의 선수들의 경쟁이 마무리 단계에 접어들었다.
01제임스의 완벽함
버지니아의 벤 제임스는 지난 여름 프리시즌 1순위 선정 이후 한 번도 1위를 내준 적이 없다. 6경기 모두 톱 5 피니시를 기록했으며, 시니어 시즌 스코어 평균 69.33으로 팀을 이끌고 있다. 그는 존 팩(2021년) 이후 처음으로 PGA Tour University를 시작부터 끝까지 1위로 마무리할 가능성이 높다.
02마스의 회복
크리스챤 마스(텍사스, 2순위)가 강하게 추격하고 있다. 남아공 출신의 시니어는 1월 DP World Tour 두바이 사막 클래식에서 T10을 기록한 후, 6주 뒤 서던 하일랜드 칼리지 우승으로 3번째 우승을 거두었다. 2년간의 기록으로 보면 2승 14회의 톱 10이 있다. 특히 올해 들어 105포인트의 격차를 45포인트까지 단축했으니, 남은 경기에서 충분히 따라잡을 수 있는 상황이다.
03톱 5의 변화
밴더빌트의 웰스 윌리엄스가 6순위에서 3순위로 점프했다. 6경기 중 5회의 톱 10 피니시가 그 힘이다. 이는 의미 있는 상승인데, 최종 랭킹에서 2-5순위는 PGA Tour Q-School 파이널 스테이지 진출 면제를 받기 때문이다. 오클라호마의 제이즈 서미와 텍사스의 토미 모리슨이 톱 5를 완성한다.
04톱 10 경계 근처
콘퍼런스 투어(2-10순위) 멤버십을 놓고 경쟁이 치열하다. 애리조나의 필립 자쿠브치크가 아리조나 NIT 우승으로 3순위 올라 9순위에 진입했다. 사우스캐롤라이나의 프랭키 하리스도 푸에르토리코 클래식 우승으로 16순위에서 11순위로 올랐고, 테네시의 랜스 심슨은 4경기에서 톱 5를 거두며 10순위에 올라 있다.
05톱 25 경계선의 스토리
일리노이의 라이언 보이스는 가을 29순위로 데뷔한 뒤 시니어 시즌 4회의 톱 15 피니시로 23순위까지 올라왔다. 조지아 테크의 히로시 타이(26순위)는 2024년 NCAA 개인 챔피언이고, 아칸소의 존 델리 2세(28순위)도 축복 칼리지 우승 후 PGA Tour 푸에르토리코 오픈에서도 경쟁했다.
06역대 선수들의 경로
2024년 베일러의 조니 키퍼는 NCAA 챔피언십 T11 피니시로 최종 25순위에 들어 PGA Tour Americas 멤버십을 얻었다. 그 후 1년만에 PGA Tour Americas 1순위, 콘퍼런스 투어 1순위를 거치며 현재 PGA 투어 멤버이자 OWGR 톱 75 랭커가 됐다.
07남은 경기
콘퍼런스 챔피언십 후 81개 팀과 45명의 개인 선수가 지역 예선(5월 18-20일)에 진출한다. 여기서 30개 팀과 6명이 NCAA 챔피언십(5월 29일-6월 3일, 라 코스타)에 진출하고, 최종 스트로크 플레이(6월 1일)를 마친 후 상위 25명이 투어 멤버십을 확보한다.
08Original (English) — PGA TOUR
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – With less than three months remaining in the 2025-26 college golf season, the PGA TOUR University Ranking is taking shape as the top seniors vie for a spot in the top 25 and membership on a PGA TOUR-sanctioned tour this summer.
As players compete for conference championships and ultimately a national championship, college golf's top seniors are also competing for jobs on the PGA TOUR (No. 1), Korn Ferry Tour (Nos. 2-10) and PGA TOUR Americas (Nos. 11-25). As such, the spring storylines focus on those critical thresholds in the PGA TOUR University Ranking, supported by Official Sponsor Huntington Bank, that will determine where players begin their paths to the PGA TOUR.
Virginia's Ben James has not relinquished the No. 1 ranking since being named preseason No. 1 last July, and he looks to join John Pak (2021) as the only players to go wire-to-wire No. 1 in PGA TOUR University. James' senior season includes top-five finishes in all six of his starts, and he paces the No. 2-ranked Cavaliers with a 69.33 scoring average and just two rounds over-par this season.
Despite James' solid form, No. 2-ranked Christiaan Maas has tightened the race for the PGA TOUR card that goes to the No. 1 player in the final ranking. The Texas senior from South Africa started 2026 with a T10 finish at the DP World Tour's Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January, and six weeks later he won the Southern Highlands Collegiate, his third collegiate victory. In all, Maas' two-year PGA TOUR U record includes two wins and 14 top 10s. And since the start of the calendar year, his deficit behind James has been reduced from 105 points to just 45.
Vanderbilt's Wells Williams has had a standout senior campaign, as well, posting five top 10s in six starts to improve three spots from No. 6 to No. 3. The move into the top five is significant, as players who finish Nos. 2-5 in the final ranking earn an exemption into Final Stage of 2026 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry later this year (finishers Nos. 6-25 are exempt into Second Stage). Oklahoma's Jase Summy and Texas' Tommy Morrison round out the top five and currently hold the final positions that earn exemptions into Final Stage.
James, Maas and Williams are three of the seven PGA TOUR U players who were named to the Haskins Award Spring Watch List, and they are joined by No. 6 Mahanth Chirravuri (Pepperdine), No. 7 Luke Potter (Texas), No. 8 Michael Alexander Mjaaseth (Arizona State) and No. 14 Bryan Lee (Virginia).
The first two No. 1 players in PGA TOUR University were Florida State's John Pak (2021) and Texas' Pierceson Coody (2022). In 2023, Texas Tech's Ludvig Åberg was the first to earn his PGA TOUR card by finishing No. 1 in PGA TOUR University, and he was followed by Stanford's Michael Thorbjornsen (2024) and North Carolina's David Ford (2025).
The competition for the No. 10 spot is another race to watch, as players who finish No. 2-10 in the final ranking earn Korn Ferry Tour membership this summer. One player has moved into the top 10 so far this season is Arizona's Filip Jakubcik, who picked up his third collegiate victory at the Arizona NIT this spring and has improved to No. 9, up three spots since January.
South Carolina's Frankie Harris has also put himself into contention, with a victory at the Puerto Rico Classic helping him improve five spots, from No. 16 in January to No. 11 this week. Tennessee's Lance Simpson has posted four top fives this season, and he currently occupies the No. 10 spot in the ranking.
In 2024, Stanford's Karl Vilips finished T8 at the NCAA Championship to improve four spots to No. 10, and he parlayed his Korn Ferry Tour membership into a victory that summer and a top-30 finish on the Points List to earn his PGA TOUR card for 2025.
Illinois' Ryan Voois debuted at No. 29 in the fall, and this week he checks in at No. 23 thanks to a senior campaign that features four top-15 finishes, including co-medalist honors at the Hal Williams Collegiate. Also in contention for a top-25 finish are Georgia Tech's Hiroshi Tai (No. 26), the 2024 NCAA individual champion, and Arkansas' John Daly II (No. 28), who won the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in the fall and recently contended at the PGA TOUR's Puerto Rico Open.
In 2024, Johnny Keefer closed his career at Baylor with a T11 finish at the NCAA Championship to move to No. 25 in the final ranking. As the final PGA TOUR U player to earn PGA TOUR Americas membership, he went on to finish No. 1 on both the PGA TOUR Americas Points List (2024) and Korn Ferry Tour Points List (2025), and he is now a PGA TOUR member and ranked in the OWGR top 75.
After conference championships, 81 teams and 45 individuals will qualify for the postseason and compete in one of six Regionals (May 18-20). From there, 30 teams and six individuals will advance to the NCAA D-I Men's National Championship, played May 29-June 3 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. After the final round of stroke play on Monday, June 1, the top 25 players in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking will earn membership on a PGA TOUR-sanctioned tour.
In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), PGA TOUR University ranks players based on the last two years of their collegiate careers. Eligible Tournaments include NCAA Division I men's team competitions, official PGA TOUR tournaments and select DP World Tour events. The Ranking Period for the Class of 2026 began Week 23/2024 and concludes June 1, 2026, following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA D-I Men's National Championship.
As PGA TOUR Americas Q-Schools are contested this spring, player eligibility and the PGA TOUR University Ranking will be updated on a weekly basis in accordance with PGA TOUR University Rules and Regulations.
