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PGA Tour U: Michael Thorbjornsen maintains lead over Christo Lamprecht
02 May 2024
by Sean Melia of AmateurGolf.com

see also: Michael Thorbjornsen Rankings

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Michael Thorbjornsen sits atop the PGA Tour U rankings (Stanford Athletics)
Michael Thorbjornsen sits atop the PGA Tour U rankings (Stanford Athletics)

As the college season comes to a close with the Regionals and National Championship the final two opportunities to earn PGA Tour University ranking points, a handful of players will be playing for their team and also for their future in the professional ranks.

There has been quite a bit of movement after conference championships. The biggest mover in the top 30 is Karl Vilips, whose Pac-!2 Championship had him jump from 20-12. ACC Individual champion Michael Brennan moved from 18 to 11.

Here is a brief rundown of what players get for their final position at the end of the season:

No. 1 ranked player -Earn PGA TOUR membership for the then-current season and will be placed at the end of the Top 5 Finishers and Ties from the Q-School category (i.e., eligible for open, full-field PGA TOUR events), beginning the week following the conclusion of the NCAA Division-I National Championship through the end of the current season; and earn PGA TOUR membership the season immediately following his finish in PGA TOUR University and will be placed in the category for the Previous Season’s Leading Finisher on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai and Korn Ferry Tour Points List, subject to reshuffles.

No 1-5: Earn conditional membership (as described below) on Korn Ferry Tour for the then-current season beginning the week following the conclusion of the NCAA Division-I National Championship through the end of the current season;

No. 6-10: Earn conditional membership (as described below) on Korn Ferry Tour for the then-current season beginning the week following the conclusion of the NCAA Division-I National Championship through the end of the current season;

No. 10-25: Earn membership on PGA TOUR Americas for the then-current season and will be exempt into all open, full-field Segment II – North America Swing events beginning the week following the conclusion of the NCAA Division-I National Championship through the end of the current PGA TOUR Americas season;

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For the full list of rules, regulations, and exemptions, visit the PGA Tour University website

Lamprecht is currently ranked No. 5 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.

No. 1: Michael Thorbjornsen - Stanford 

After missing the entire fall season for Stanford and relinquishing the No. 1 spot briefly this spring, Thorbjornsen rounded into form and played great golf in his final collegiate spring. He won the Cabo Collegiate with a 6-under 65 in the final round. He has steadily improved his results since returning to golf. He finished 71 in the Amer Ari Intercollegiate and 17 in the Prestige. Runner-up finishes in The Goodwin and the Western Intercollegiate, along with a T8 in the Pac-12 Championship has him in excellent position to finish the season right where he is - atop the PGA Tour U rankings.

No. 2: Christo Lamprecht - Georgia Tech

Since our last update, Lamprecht competed in The Masters, where he missed the cut. He's collected a number of solid finishes - T9 in the Lampkin Invitational, T2 in the Watersound Invitational, and a T11 in The Goodwin. He nabbed a T3 in the ACC Champion and just won the Byron Nelson Award this week, too. The South African will need some exceptional finishes to catch Thorbjornsen.

No. 3: Matthew Riedel - Vanderbilt

Riedel continues to move up the rankings this spring. In February he was No. 6, and now, after a T2 at Valspar, a T3 at the Mason Rudolph, and a T2 at the SEC Championship, he's in control of his own destiny as he also tries to help the Commodores reach the summit at La Costa.

No. 4: Austin Greaser - University of North Carolina

The former U.S. Amateur runner-up and Western Amateur champion has been hovering around the fifth spot. After a slow start to the spring, Greaser seems dialed in. He finished T6 at the Hayt and followed that up with a fifth-place finish at Valspar. A T17 in the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational didn't deter him, and he finished T3 in the ACC Championship, helping the Tar Heels win the title. Greaser has been battling pain in his left wrist and a bit of freedom as a professional would give him some piece of mind heading into the next phase of his career.

No. 5: Nick Gabrelcik - University of North Florida

Gabrelcik maintained has slowly slipped down the rankings from third earlier this spring. An early spring win in the Gator Invitational was his first win since 2022. However, over the last month, Gabrelcik has struggled. He played in the Valspar Championship on a sponsor's exemption and missed the cut. He also has a T20 in the Hayt and a T15 in the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial. He did not play in the ASUN Conference Championship. This week, Gabrelcik was named ASUN Player of the Year for the fourth time.

No. 6: Cole Sherwood - Vanderbilt

Sherwood is another player who has moved up the board this spring. He was in 10th two months ago and is now aiming for that coveted top-5 slot. Earlier this season, a T5 in the Watersound Invitational was a big help in his upward momentum. He finished 14th in the Cabo Collegiate and most recently recorded T7 finishes in both the Mason Rudolph and the SEC Championship.

No. 7: Gustav Frimodt - TCU

The Big-12 individual champion with compete in the Regionals without his TCU teammates. That win moved Frimodt up four spots and inside the top-10 for the first time in a few months. A third place in the Lousiana Classics also helped Frimodt cause. 

No. 8: Frederik Kjettrup - Florida State

Like Frimodt, Kjettrup rode the wave of a conference title up the rankings this week. He was No. 14 in the rankings last week and is now in 8th place. Kjettrup has been bouncing back and forth inside the top 10 all spring, and a strong regional showing with Florida State could go a long way in helping him lock up conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour with a top-10 ranking.

No. 9:  William Moll - Vanderbilt

Moll's T30 in the SEC Champion pushed him down the ranking as conference champs Frimodt and Kjettrup both leapfrogged him this week. 

is fresh off a seventh place in the Cabo Collegiate, which was a nice bounce back from a T45 in the Watersound Invitational. The Cabo performance was Moll's second top ten of his senior year. Moll has three top-15 finishes this spring, and he will need a good performance in the regionals to keep from slipping outside the top 10.

No. 10:  Mats Ege - East Tennessee State

Ege has four top-10 finishes this spring, including a victory in the SoCon Men's Golf Championship. Even with that victory, he dropped from 9th to 10th in the rankings because other conference championships had a stronger field and gave out more points. The Norwegian will now be on equal footing with his peers during the regional tournament where he can prove himself and earn enough points to maintain or improve his standing.


 

 

 

 

 

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