Trevor Cone's bounce-back mentality leads to TOUR card

Trevor Cone lives with an even keel, which serves him well in professional golf.

Falling short at Final Stage of consecutive Q-Schools didn’t get him down. Nor did a 60-event stretch with just one top-10.

The same goes for success. Even after winning the AdventHealth Championship in May, his second career Korn Ferry Tour title, he knew the path to a PGA TOUR card was far from complete. He kept the proverbial nose to the grindstone, made nine of 10 cuts to conclude the Regular Season and earned his first PGA TOUR card via a No. 22 finish on the Regular Season Points List.

When it comes to context on the season-long standings, each of Cone’s Korn Ferry Tour titles tells a similar story. The win in Kansas City moved Cone, 30, from No. 149 to No. 21 on the Points List with 10 events remaining in the Regular Season. When Cone won the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in 2018, he catapulted from No. 135 to No. 37.

In the response to each win, though, the arc diverges.

Before Cone's win at the Ellie Mae Classic, he played on the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour via conditional status. He fell short of guaranteed starts via Final Stage of Q-School in 2016 and 2017, his first two years as a professional after graduating from Virginia Tech.

While waiting for an opportunity on the Korn Ferry Tour, Cone competed on PGA TOUR Canada from 2016-17, finishing No. 36 and No. 33 on the Fortinet Cup standings, respectively.

"PGA TOUR Canada is what helped me. It was my first dose of super competitive professional golf, and everyone has a chance to win each week, much like the Korn Ferry Tour," Cone said. "To start my professional career knowing I would be able to have a full schedule and knowing where I would play in Canada was nice."

His first year on PGA TOUR Canada was only a year after he realized he had the talent to become a professional golfer. The thought of making a living on the PGA TOUR never crossed Cone's mind until he won the 2015 ACC Championship during his senior year as a Hokie. The individual conference title convinced him to test his ability at the pro level.

After early success in Canada, he found his way onto the Korn Ferry Tour in 2018 through conditional status and sponsor exemptions. His first top-10 came at the LECOM Health Challenge after rounds of 68-66-71-68 (T8). A month later, Cone was victorious at TPC Stonebrae. A week later, Cone closed the 2018 Regular Season with a T24 finish at the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz. It was the end of a stretch that saw Cone record four top-25 finishes in nine starts.

Cone finished the Regular Season ranked No. 38 on the Points List. He was satisfied having locked up his status on the Korn Ferry Tour.

"At that point, I was just happy to get a win,” Cone said. “We were 135 on the Points List the week of my first win. Even if I had finished second at the Ellie Mae, I still would've looked at 2018 as a successful season because in the beginning, I knew I would only have 11 or 12 events to secure full status on the Korn Ferry Tour. I was happy to keep my card and have a chance in the Finals.”

After not recording a finish better than T33 at the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Finals, Cone looked ahead to his first season with full status on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Cone would miss 39 cuts in his next 60 starts between 2019-21. He had various top finishes, such as T9 at the 2020 Country Club de Bogota Championship and T15 at the 2021 AdventHealth Championship, but he struggled to find any consistency over the three years.

"I don't have one of these stories where I was deep in the dumps,” Cone said. “Sometimes as a pro golfer, you get in a funk, and it's hard to get out of. I wasn't playing horrible golf, but if you're not playing really good golf, it's tough even to make cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour.”

In February 2021, Cone decided it was time for a fresh perspective on his game. He began working with John Scott Rattan, director of instruction at Congressional Country Club, who also coaches fellow Korn Ferry Tour winner David Kocher.

"We didn't change anything technical with my swing,” Cone said. “I'm not a technical person. My biggest thing is that I have access to my coach now. I sent him a swing video this morning, and I know he will get back to me by noon.”

After failing to finish better than T45 in his first nine starts on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022, Cone won the AdventHealth Championship with rounds of 65-67-70-70. Cone felt more confidence in finishing the season strong after the victory, unlike in 2018.

"Naturally, I've become a veteran on the Korn Ferry Tour, whereas in 2018, I had no idea what I was doing,” Cone said. “I was playing golf and had no idea how hard it was to get on the PGA TOUR. After my win at the AdventHealth, I knew there was still a ton of work to be done.”

Cone would miss only one cut over the final 10 Regular Season events. He recorded top-20 finishes at the Wichita Open, Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper and Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank.

After a T34 finish at the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna, the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season finale, Cone was ranked No. 22 and secured his PGA TOUR card for 2023.

"I was glad that my dad and girlfriend flew out,” Cone said. “For them to be at my events and sacrifice their weekend activities means the world to me. It was incredible to have them there as I walked off 18.”

One of Cone’s early goals on TOUR? Qualifying for next year’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.

"I went to that event quite a bit as a youngster, and it would be a surreal moment if I were to play," Cone said.

Cone stands No. 170 on the FedExCup into the winter break, but considering how he has rallied from slow patches early in his career, don’t bet against him.