The PGA TOUR Americas inaugural season by the numbers

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR Americas season is largely defined by the number 10 – the number of players who graduate and earn Korn Ferry Tour membership next season. The following is a look at some other numbers that defined the PGA TOUR Americas inaugural season.

368 Players

Representing 28 countries, 368 players had the opportunity to make at least one start across the 16-event season.

285 Birdies

Matthew Anderson had 285 birdies to lead the Tour in total birdies. He finished the season with 63 more birdies than second-ranked player Derek Hitchner (222). Anderson’s average of 5.18 birdies per round was second to John Keefer’s 5.46 average. Anderson also led the Tour in rounds in the 60s (36), sub-par rounds (41), and par-5 performance (-103).

66 Scoring Average

John Keefer had an impressive scoring average of 66.00 to lead the Tour. He won this category by a significant margin of 1.29 strokes over Michael Brennan, who had a scoring average of 67.29. Keefer shot over par only once throughout his 10 starts, carding a 1-over 71 in the second round of the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship. Aside from winning the Fortinet Cup race with a total of 2,022 points, Keefer also led the Tour in Top 10 finishes (9), most consecutive cuts made (10), birdie average (5.46), bogey average (1.37), birdie to bogey ratio (4.02), par-4 scoring average (3.82), par-4 performance (-71) and par-5 scoring average (4.23). He also had the highest number of consecutive rounds of par or better (32).

59 Round

The lowest round of the season, recorded by Harry Hillier during the second round of the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship. He shot 13-under in a round that featured 13 birdies and 5 pars at Club El Rincón de Cajicá outside Bogotá, Colombia. He went on to win the tournament by 8 shots, which was also the largest margin of victory for the season.

37 Players

Only 37 players had the opportunity to tee it up in all 16 events: Matthew Anderson, Clay Feagler, Harry Hillier, Joey Savoie, Conner Godsey, Samuel Anderson, Chase Sienkiewicz, Brendon Doyle, Luke Long, Mateo Fernández de Oliveira, Joey Vrzich, Chris Crawford, Derek Hitchner, Jesús Montenegro, David Pastore, Jeremy Gandon, Brendan MacDougall, Kyle Karazissis, Chris Korte, Ollie Osborne, Ben Carr, Chris Francoeur, Brandon Hoelzer, Jorge Villar, Andrés Gallegos, Thomas Lilly, Alex Weiss, Jonathan De Los Reyes, Jaime López Rivarola, Reid Davenport, Thomas Giroux, Luis Gerardo Garza, Noah Steele, Paul Chaplet, Marcos Montenegro, Gavin Hall, Charles Wang.

26 Under

That’s what four tournament winners shot to secure their titles. Barend Botha did it twice in back-to-back weeks to win the Commissionaires Ottawa Open (262 strokes) and the BioSteel Championship (258). Harry Hillier had done it at the last Latin America Swing event in Colombia (262 strokes), while John Keefer did it at the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open (262 strokes) for a win that secured him the Fortinet Cup lead for good.

22 Years

Winning twice at 22, Barend Botha led a group of 11 tournament winners who were 25 or younger. He claimed his first title at age 22 years, 7 months, 8 days at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open on July 28. After he won again, a week later, the next youngest champion was Tour No. 1 John Keefer, who won the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open at age 23 years, 7 months, 14 days. In all, PGA TOUR Americas had 14 tournament winners in their 20s. At 30, Will Cannon was the only winner in his 30s, and at 43, Mexico’s veteran José de Jesús Rodríguez was the oldest to win.

19th Place Finish

John Keefer was so good in his 10 PGA TOUR Americas starts – his first 10 starts as a professional player – that his worst finish was a tie for 19th at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open. He shot 18-under with four rounds in the 60s to finish eight shots behind tournament winner Barend Botha. In his other nine Tour starts, the Baylor University alum finished in a tie for sixth or better.

16 Eagles

Michael Brennan had 16 eagles to lead the Tour’s total eagles stat. Playing only 10 events, he had two more eagles than the next-best player, Samuel Anderson, who recorded 14 in 16 starts. Brennan made an eagle every 35 holes.

13 Tournament Champions

The Tour’s 16 events were won by 13 different players from six countries. The winning tally by country included wins by the United States (6), Canada (3), Denmark (3), South Africa (2), Mexico (1), and New Zealand (1). There were two multiple winners, with Denmark’s Frederik Kjettrup claiming three titles for the rare “Three-Win Promotion” that secured him full status on the Korn Ferry Tour and South Africa’s Barend Botha, who won twice. Both won their first two events in consecutive weeks.

8 Shots Ahead

An eight-shot win by Harry Hillier at the Inter Rapidísimo Golf Championship in Colombia provided the largest margin of victory this past season. The widest win after that was a four-shot win by Ian Holt at the Explore NB Open.

7 Countries

The inaugural season’s host countries were Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. Mexico and Canada were the only countries to host multiple events, with two in Mexico and nine in Canada.

4 Runner-up Finishes

John Keefer was the only player with multiple runner-up finishes, as he finished solo second or tied for second four times. He broke the runner-up spell at the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open, which he won by one shot to claim the Fortinet Cup lead for good.

3 Wins

On his way to a second-place finish on the Fortinet Cup points list, Frederik Kjettrup won three times in nine PGA TOUR Americas starts. He won The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist and the ATB Classic in back-to-back weeks to start the North America Swing and then claimed the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens, which was the penultimate event of the season. With his three wins he earned the Three-Victory Promotion, making him an immediate member of the Korn Ferry Tour and fully exempt through the 2025 season. Kjettrup became the first player to achieve the Three-Victory Promotion since its inception in 2020 at the International Tours level (formerly PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica).

2.635 Over Par

Hosting the season-opening Bupa Championship, the par-72 at PGA Riviera Maya played so tough that it stood as the toughest course on PGA TOUR Americas by the end of the year. Surrounded by dense jungle and playing 7,272 yards long, the Robert Trent Jones II designed course produced a scoring average of 74.635 (+2.635). A close second at 72.137 (+2.137), the next toughest was the North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, which hosted the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship. No other course on Tour played over par.

2 Aces

Chris Crawford and Samuel Anderson were the only players with multiple aces this season. Crawford had the Tour’s first ace ever during the first round of the Diners Club Peru Open (Par-3 No. 4, 207 yards, 5-iron) and his second during the second round of the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open (Par-3 No. 15, 164 yards, 8-iron). Anderson recorded his first at the par-3 No. 2 at Golf Château-Bromont during the second round of the Bromont Open presented by Desjardins. He outdid Crawford during the third round of the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open, hitting driver to make his second ace on a par-4, the 315-yard No. 7 at Elk Ridge Resort’s Tournament Course. He joined three other players (Paul Chaplet, Jimmy Jones, and Diego Vanegas) in a short list of four double-eagles.

1 Playoff

The season-opening Bupa Championship at Tulum was the only tournament decided in a playoff. After tying for first at 4-under 284 at PGA Riviera Maya, Clay Feagler edged out Davis Shore in the fourth hole of the overtime session. Nine of the next 15 events on the schedule were decided by one shot, but there were no more playoffs to be played.