Fortinet Cup, Week 15: Race for No. 1 down to three players

PGA TOUR University alumni John Keefer and Frederik Kjettrup, the best two players across the North America Swing, and Matthew Anderson, the top performer during the Latin America Swing, hold the Fortinet Cup top three spots through week 15 of the 16-week PGA TOUR Americas inaugural season.

As the leading trio, Keefer, Kjettrup and Anderson are the only players with mathematical chances of winning the Fortinet Cup at the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship, which is set to begin Thursday at the TPC Toronto’s North Course. The final event will have an elevated point allocation, with 600 points going to the winner instead of the 500 points awarded at each of the previous 15 events.

The following is a look at the Fortinet Cup’s top 10 players and those who made significant moves during the penultimate event of the season:

1. John Keefer, United States

• Fortinet Cup Points: 1,862 (nine starts)
• Last week’s rank: First
• Best finish this season: Won the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open

After claiming a highly anticipated first win in Winnipeg, Keefer made sure not to relax in Minnesota. He closed with a final-round 64 to tie for fourth at Cragun’s Legacy Course, which allowed him to keep a good lead of 260 points atop the Fortinet Cup standings. The 23-year-old has been the most consistent player throughout the North America Swing, having recorded seven top-five finishes in nine starts. He enters the final event of the season as the Tour leader in top-10 finishes (8), scoring average (65.58), birdie average (5.74), and bogey average (1.10).

2. Frederik Kjettrup, Denmark

• Fortinet Cup Points: 1,602 (eight starts)
• Last week’s rank: Third
• Best finish this season: Won The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist, the ATB Classic and the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens

Three wins in a span of eight starts says a lot about the caliber of this 24-year-old from Aabybro, Denmark. His third win of the season, at the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens, came in wire-to-wire fashion (no ties). As the first PGA TOUR Americas player to claim the rare Three-Victory Promotion, he is already a Korn Ferry Tour member with full exempt status through the 2025 season. His newfound status will allow him to play freely at the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship.

3. Matthew Anderson, Canada

• Fortinet Cup Points: 1,430 (15 starts)
• Last week’s rank: Second
• Best finish this season: Won the ECP Brazil Open

A tie for 28th in Brainerd earned him only 28.75 points in a week, not enough to keep up with the pace set by Keefer, who earned 122.5, and Kjettrup, who claimed 500. In order to move past this duo, he must win and have Keefer finish in a three-way tie for third or worse. Playing near home, he will have plenty of support from family and friends during the final event, where he enters as the Tour leader in rounds in the 60s (35), sub-par rounds (40), par-5 performance (-101), and total birdies (271).

4. Barend Botha, South Africa

• Fortinet Cup Points: 1,005 (six starts)
• Last week’s rank: Fourth
• Best finish this season: Won the Commissionaires Ottawa Open and the BioSteel Championship in consecutive weeks

He leads the players whose math does not add up to win the Fortinet Cup. After back-to-back wins in Ottawa and Windsor, he is comfortably inside the top 10 but has lost momentum with three consecutive missed cuts.

5. Clay Feagler, United States

• Fortinet Cup Points: 881 (15 starts)
• Last week’s rank: Fifth
• Best finish this season: Won the Bupa Championship at Tulum

The first player to hold the Fortinet Cup lead after a win at the season-opening Bupa Championship at Tulum, Feagler has stayed inside the top five for 14 of the past 15 tournament weeks. After a consistent start to the season, he has had a rough final stretch, missing the cut in five of his last six starts.

6. Harry Hillier, New Zealand

• Fortinet Cup Points: 844 (15 starts)
• Last week’s rank: Sixth
• Best finish this season: Won the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship

The 13-under 59 he shot in the second round on his way to an eight-shot victory at the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship in Colombia, remains the lowest 18-hole score of the season. He has lacked consistency lately, missing the cut in four of his last six starts.

7. Stuart Macdonald, Canada

• Fortinet Cup Points: 783 (14 starts)
• Last week’s rank: Ninth
• Best finish this season: Won the Diners Club Perú Open

A tie for 12th at the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens, earned him enough Fortinet Cup points to move from ninth to seventh in the points list. He has stayed inside the Fortinet Cup top 10 since his Diners Club Perú Open victory in April.

8. Ryan Burnett, United States

• Fortinet Cup Points: 781 (14 starts)
• Last week’s rank: Eighth
• Best finish this season: Won the Bromont Open presented by Desjardins

The eighth-ranked player in the Fortinet Cup for five of the last six weeks, this 24-year-old from Lafayette, California, is 51 points ahead of the player holding the 11th spot. With his Bromont Open win as his best finish, he has recorded five top-25s during the nine North America Swing tournaments.

9. Samuel Anderson, United States

• Fortinet Cup Points: 753 (15 starts)
• Last week’s rank: Seventh
• Best finish this season: Solo second at the Diners Club Perú Open

Once the PGA TOUR Americas leader in top-10 finishes after a tie for eighth six weeks ago at the Bromont Open, Anderson has missed the cut in four of his last five starts. His latest missed cut in Minnesota made him drop from seventh to ninth in the standings. He enters the final event of the season only 23 points ahead of the 11th-ranked player.

10. Conner Godsey, United States

• Fortinet Cup Points: 749 (15 starts)
• Last week’s rank: 13th
• Best finish this season: Tied for second at the ECP 69th Brazil Open

A tie for sixth at the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens, his third top-10 of the season and his first on the North America Swing, allowed him to move from 13th to 10th in the Fortinet Cup standings. He has spent 10 of the past 13 tournament weeks inside the Fortinet Cup top 10 but will enter the final event only 19 points ahead of the player holding the 11th spot.

Who dropped outside the top 10:

12. Joey Savoie, Canada

• Fortinet Cup Points: 720 (15 starts)
• Last week’s rank: 10th
• Best finish this season: Tied for second at CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open

Shooting 68-73 to miss the cut in Brainerd, Minnesota, he was unable to keep the good momentum provided by a runner-up finish the week before in Winnipeg. He slipped down from 10th to 12th in the Fortinet Cup standings but is only 29 points behind new 10th-place holder Conner Godsey.

Most significant moves outside the top 10:

18. Neal Shipley, United States

• Fortinet Cup Points: 510 (four starts)
• Last week’s rank: 44th
• Best finish this season: Tied for second at the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open

Shipley has gained 101 spots in the Fortinet Cup points list over the past two weeks, moving from 119th into the 18th spot. Following a share of runner-up honors in Winnipeg with a solo third finish in Minnesota, he is one of the hottest players on Tour entering the final event of the season. The victory he has been flirting with could take him all the way to the fourth spot if he gets the job done in Toronto.

26. Bryce Lewis, United States

• Fortinet Cup Points: 465 (nine starts)
• Last week’s rank: 81st
• Best finish this season: Solo second at the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens

Firing a spectacular 9-under 61 Sunday, he came close to stealing the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens from Kjettrup. The come-from-behind effort was huge, as he moved from 81st to 26th in the Fortinet Cup standings.

Final stop:

PGA TOUR Americas is playing the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship this week at the TPC Toronto’s North Course (Sept. 5-8, 2024). With only those inside the Fortinet Cup’s top 120 players eligible to play, the final event of the season will determine the leading 10 who will earn 2025 Korn Ferry Tour cards.