In the individual competition, each collegiate player competes over 18 holes, posting his own score. The low player earns a spot in a PGA TOUR event later in the season — a rare and valuable opportunity for an amateur to test his game at the highest level.

Simultaneously, the team competition brings together a professional alumnus and two amateurs from the same school in a best-ball format. The winning trio secures a $50,000 donation to their university’s golf program, adding both pride and financial impact to the week.

Over the past decade, the Showcase has built a reputation as more than just a ceremonial opener to tournament week. It has identified players who would go on to make real noise in professional golf.

Will Zalatoris captured the inaugural title in 2015. Two years later, Sahith Theegala won and went on to make the cut in the Genesis Invitational that same week. In 2018, a University of Texas standout named Scottie Scheffler earned the exemption — one of his earliest PGA TOUR starts. Today, Scheffler sits firmly atop the world rankings, a reminder of how quickly collegiate excellence can translate to the professional stage. And 2022 Showcase winner Michael Brennan of Wake Forest kept the tradition alive, picking up his first win at the 2025 PGA Tour Utah Championship.

While the structure of the exemption has evolved — winners no longer automatically enter the Genesis Invitational itself — the competitive significance has not diminished. A PGA TOUR start, wherever it falls on the schedule, remains a career-shaping opportunity.