How Gordon Sargent could earn a TOUR card before his senior year

Gordon Sargent’s summer could provide an accelerated path to the PGA TOUR. Pun intended.

Sargent, who recently completed his sophomore season at Vanderbilt, has shone brightly in the past year, becoming one of the hottest prospects in golf. It started with his win at the NCAA Championship to conclude his freshman year, and then his special invitation to the Masters this spring. Sargent missed the cut at Augusta National but he drew praise from some of the biggest names in the game, including Max Homa and Rory McIlroy.

Sargent showed he can compete on a major stage by making the cut at the U.S. Open earlier this month and earning low-amateur honors with his T39 finish. His results aren’t the only impressive numbers, however.

His eye-popping ball speed, especially surprising considering his rather slender frame and smooth swing, is the sort of stuff that sets social media ablaze.

And now Sargent will spend the next two weeks on TOUR as he chases an unprecedented achievement. Sargent has received sponsor exemptions to this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic and the John Deere Classic. These appearances could play a crucial role in his attempt to become the first player to earn PGA TOUR membership through PGA TOUR U’s Accelerated program, which was announced last year.

Players who earn 20 points on Accelerated’s points scale by the end of their third year of NCAA eligibility earn PGA TOUR membership. They don’t need to turn pro immediately to earn the membership either. They can take it after the NCAA Championship at the conclusion of each collegiate season.

That gives Sargent options because he could reach those 20 points by summer’s end, before he even begins his junior year of college golf. Earning TOUR status through Accelerated isn’t as easy as he’s made it appear, however. Since 2010, only three players would have earned membership through PGA TOUR University Accelerated: Patrick Cantlay (2012), Justin Thomas (2013) and Patrick Rodgers (2014).

Sargent has 16 points thanks to his NCAA title, NCAA Division I Freshman of the Year Award, starts in majors and inclusion on national teams. He has already been named to this year’s U.S. Walker Cup team, which will give him another two points when he tees it up at St. Andrews in September. He could earn his final two points these next two weeks.

Making a cut in a PGA TOUR event is worth one Accelerated point and a top-10 finish brings one additional point. Sargent also could earn a point if he represents the United States in the World Amateur Team Championship later this year, a strong possibility considering he is the top-ranked amateur in the world.

Has Sargent considered that possibility?

“I feel like if you play just good golf and the golf that you know you're capable of, then you're going to reach those 20 points without having to think about it too much,” Sargent said Tuesday at Detroit Golf Club. “It was nice to kind of get some confidence playing in the U.S. Open a few weeks ago. Obviously as the week goes on you may readjust your goals a little bit, but I know if I play good golf and do what I'm capable of, then hopefully hit those 20 points as soon as possible.”

A win in Detroit would allow Sargent to activate TOUR membership upon turning professional at any point through the 2025 season, as well.

Sargent is clearly a special talent, and it starts on the tee.

At the U.S. Open, Sargent averaged 310.4 yards on all his drives, 13.1 yards further than the field average, including 14 drives of 330 yards or longer at LACC. Only five players had more such tee shots. His five drives of 350 yards or longer were tied for fifth-most in the field, too, and his average carry distance for the week was a stout 308.6 yards, a full 21.7 more than the week’s average.

Sargent’s measured ball speed at the U.S. Open was 188.75 mph, fourth-best and just ahead of the champion, Wyndham Clark (188.67 mph). His slowest measured ball speed on a drive for the week was 185.04 mph, nearly a full 10 mph higher than the field average.

Expect a similar approach this week in Detroit.

“So far I feel like you can hit a lot of drivers out there, and I tried to do that today,” he said Tuesday. “I feel like that's my game plan so far … I think if you're driving it well, then there are a lot of holes where you can kind of push it up there and get yourself in really good position, so that's where the driver's going to come into use. And if it stays this soft, kind of I guess makes the fairways a little wider, just knowing it's not going to release as much.”

Sargent did more, though, than just pound drivers all over LACC. Only two players in the field converted birdie opportunities at a higher percentage (41.9%) than the 20-year-old amateur that week. His average proximity to the hole was better than the tournament average from both the fairway and the rough. He finished the championship with positive Strokes Gained averages in each of the measured categories, with performance around the green (ranked 27th) being his best figure relative to his peers.

Those numbers produced rounds of 69-71-75-69 and a top-40 finish at the U.S. Open after earning medalist honors at Final Qualifying in Georgia.

After the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Sargent will head to the Quad Cities for next week’s John Deere Classic, another chance to accrue PGA TOUR Accelerated points. The crisscross travel has become the norm; after his U.S. Open qualifier, he went straight to Pittsburgh for the Palmer Cup, then to LACC.

“I think there's kind of that adrenaline aspect,” Sargent said. “Traveling to some cool places and playing golf is fun.”

As is chasing a PGA TOUR card as a college kid.

Here’s a breakdown of how Sargent has accrued 16 PGA TOUR University Accelerated points into the Rocket Mortgage Classic:

16 points – Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt (Class of 2025)
• 5 = Best WAGR rank: 1st
• 1 = Major made cut (2023 U.S. Open)
• 1 = Major start (2023 U.S. Open)
• 1 = Palmer Cup (2023)
• 1 = Major start (2023 Masters)
• 1 = World Amateur Team Championship (2022)
• 1 = Palmer Cup (2022)
• 3 = Tournament win (2022 D-I NCAA individual)
• 2 = D-I Outstanding Freshman Award (2022)