What's at stake in last week before Korn Ferry Tour Finals

Last week, Danny Walker tied The Club at Indian Creek’s course record en route to a runner-up finish at the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse. It was a good time for his career-best Korn Ferry Tour finish – and first top-10 of the year.

And after a solid summertime stretch, Walker sits No. 31 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, a mere five points back of the magical No. 30.

Walker, with six top-20 results this season including four in his last six starts, has made a steady climb up the Points List at the most idyllic time of the season – with this week’s Magnit Championship marking the final event before the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

The four-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals concludes the season-long points race, with 30 PGA TOUR cards awarded after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing and Finance.

There are reduced fields for each of the four Korn Ferry Tour Finals events (156, 144, 120, and 75 players), with eligibility into each tournament determined by the cumulative Points List entering that event.

Korn Ferry Tour Finals events in 2024 will not maintain alternate lists. This is a change from 2023, where the first three Finals events filled the field to 156, 144 and 120 players respectively.

The top 75 after the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, the third Finals leg, are guaranteed fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership in 2025, while those in the top 100 receive conditional Korn Ferry Tour status for next year.

There are plenty of scenarios left to unfold over the coming months with lots of players fighting for different things. But one thing is for sure – every shot matters.

Here are five players on various bubbles to monitor as we inch closer to the conclusion of the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour campaign.

DANNY WALKER – No. 31

Walker, who has put himself in prime position for a PGA TOUR thanks to a solid summertime run, is back in action this week in New Jersey after his second-place finish in Omaha. Walker finished 45th at Metedeconk National Golf Club last year. He’s only five points back of the No. 30 spot and will need to keep his stretch of good golf going if he wants to earn #TOURBound status.

BRADEN THORNBERRY – No. 69

Thornberry, the former NCAA champion, has had five top-25 finishes in 2024 but will need to turn things around after a bit of an up-and-down summertime. Thornberry made six straight cuts through May and June and notched all five of his top-25 results in that run. He’s missed four of his last five cuts, however, and with the No. 75 mark on the Points List getting closer, there’s never been a better time to play well.

He’s making his debut at Metedeconk National this week.

FRED BIONDI – No. 121

Another NCAA champ, Biondi has had a steep learning curve on the Korn Ferry Tour this summer. The University of Florida alum started his Korn Ferry Tour career with a bang, finishing tied for seventh at the season-opening Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay en route to making his first four cuts. But Biondi comes into the Magnit Championship having missed his last nine cuts.

He’s currently inside the mark to qualify for the first two Korn Ferry Tour Finals events, and close to the third, but the Brazil native will need to find his early-season form once again in order to move up and move on.

CHRISTO LAMPRECHT – No. 130

Lamprecht, the 2023 winner of The Amateur Championship and former No. 1-ranked amateur, has positioned himself for a potential run through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in just seven tournaments. He finished tied for fifth at The Ascendant presented by Blue which has been the key result for him with respect to his spot on the Points List. The long-hitting Lamprecht certainly has the tools to play well over the next few weeks, but he’ll need to tap into some of his big-stage experience (having played the Masters earlier this year and winning low amateur at The Open Championship last year) to keep climbing the Points List.

JARED DU TOIT – No. 141

It’s been a gritty, if inconsistent, season for du Toit who started the year traveling the world and picking up starts on any global tour he could. He’s found a home on the Korn Ferry Tour through the summertime (after finishing tied for eighth in his first event of the year, the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank), but he hasn’t been able to convert the rest of this season’s opportunities into big results. He found the weekend at the Pinnacle Bank Championship thanks to a dramatic final-hole birdie (his first made cut in a month) to pad the points a little before this week’s event in New Jersey.