How it works: PGA TOUR University at 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship

The stroke play portion of this week’s NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship (May 23-26) is the final tournament for players in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2025. The top 25 players in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking will be announced Monday, May 26, after the final round of stroke play at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

For players in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2025, the points distribution for the NCAA Championship is based on a WAGR Power of 1000. Additionally, players in the current season PGA TOUR University Ranking will receive bonus points if they finish in the top 10 of the final stroke-play leaderboard, with the champion earning 15 bonus points. With these provisions, a current-year player will earn 40 points if he wins the individual NCAA Championship title.

PGA TOUR University bonus points:

• First – 15 points
• Second – 10 points
• Third – 8 points
• Fourth – 7 points
• Fifth – 6 points
• Sixth – 5 points
• Seventh – 4 points
• Eighth – 3 points
• Ninth – 2 points
• 10th – 1 point

The NCAA Championship field includes 30 teams and six individuals, and 18 of the top 25 players in PGA TOUR University are on teams that qualified. The pre-tournament projections outlined below are based on some assumptions (noted in each section). Projections will continually change throughout the tournament, as points averages of players will change based on how they play at the NCAA Championship.

Updated projections based on daily results will be published after each round during the NCAA Championship.

Projecting No. 1

At stake: The player who finishes No. 1 will earn PGA TOUR membership for the remainder of the 2025 season and the 2026 season.

• No. 1 David Ford did not qualify for the NCAA Championship; his PGA TOUR University record is complete and his final points average is 1214.0040.
• No. 2 Brendan Valdes’ maximum points average is 1211.5081.
• No. 3 Ian Gilligan’s maximum points average is 1176.2791.
• No. 4 Jackson Van Paris’ maximum points average is 1179.6174.

Projecting top five

At stake: Players who finish Nos. 2-5 earn exempt membership on Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of the 2025 season and are exempt into Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

No. 5-ranked Jose Luis Ballester enters the NCAA championship with a points average of 1032.6425. In order to surpass Ballester’s current average, players would need the following finishes:

• No. 6 Omar Morales – seventh
• No. 8 Preston Summerhays – fifth
• No. 10 Phichaksn Maichon – win
• No. 11 Jackson Buchanan – win
• No. 12 Pablo Ereno Perez – win
• No. 14 Carson Bacha – win

Because they did not qualify for the NCAA Championship, No. 7 Sebastian Moss, No. 9 Algot Kleen and No. 13 Justin Hastings cannot surpass Ballester’s current average.

Projecting top 10

At stake: Players who finish Nos. 6-10 earn exempt membership on Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of the 2025 season and are exempt into Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

No. 9-ranked Algot Kleen did not qualify for the NCAA championship, and his PGA TOUR U record is complete. In order to surpass Kleen’s average of 968.7325, players would need the following finishes:

• No. 10 Phichaksn Maichon – 11th
• No. 11 Jackson Buchanan – 10th
• No. 12 Pablo Ereno Perez – seventh
• No. 14 Carson Bacha – sixth
• No. 15 Drew Goodman – second
• No. 16 Buck Brumlow – second
• No. 17 Caden Fioroni – second
• No. 18 Calum Scott – win
• No. 19 Jake Peacock – win
• No. 24 Nathan Franks – win

Because they did not qualify for the NCAA Championship, No. 13 Justin Hastings, No. 21 Enrique Dimayuga, No. 23 Kieron Van Wyk and No. 25 Nicholas Mathews cannot surpass Kleen's current average.

Even with a victory at the NCAA championship, No. 20 Hunter Thomson and No. 22 Gray Albright cannot surpass Kleen's current average.

Projecting top 25

At stake: Players who finish Nos. 11-25 are exempt on PGA TOUR Americas for the remainder of the 2025 season and are exempt into Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

No. 25-ranked Nicholas Mathews did not qualify for the NCAA championship, and his PGA TOUR U record is complete. In order to surpass Mathews’ average of 811.1568, players would need the following finishes:

• No. 26 Deven Patel – 14th
• No. 27 Kye Meeks – 14th
• No. 28 Scotty Kennon – eighth
• No. 31 Justin Biwer – third
• No. 33 Marshall Meisel – third
• No. 34 Zac Jones – third
• No. 37 Stephen Campbell Jr. – win
• No. 39 Charles Delong – second
• No. 40 Dylan McDermott – win
• No. 41 Ryan Eshleman – second
• No. 42 Braxton Watts – win
• No. 43 Shubham Jaglan – win