Air Force alum, family man Tom Whitney earns first PGA TOUR card

When it comes to paths to the PGA TOUR, a few words can sum up the typical journey. Think: unpredictable, gruesome and exhausting.

A collegiate star can now make a direct leap from PGA TOUR University (like Ludvig Åberg) or an early-20s phenom can win as a Special Temporary Member to activate full status (like Akshay Bhatia) – but that’s not the norm. The road is often winding and always unique, defined by myriad ups and downs, close calls, (usually) missed cuts, near-misses and uncertainty.

Enter Tom Whitney. A 2010 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Whitney played golf all four years at the Academy and was team MVP in 2010 as well as a finalist for the Byron Nelson Award, a collegiate award for graduating seniors to recognize the scholar-athlete of the year.

After fulfilling his military obligations, Whitney – whose time on active duty featured work as a nuclear missile operator – separated from the Air Force in 2014 and turned his focus back to golf. He earned Korn Ferry Tour status for 2017 and has made 117 career starts on the circuit, in addition to 34 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica starts and three PGA TOUR appearances.

The winding path has led to the PGA TOUR. Whitney, 34, finished No. 21 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List to earn his first TOUR card. The top 30 on the season-long Points List, finalized after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, earned 2024 PGA TOUR membership.

Whitney notched six top-10 finishes on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour, a campaign highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Club, in addition to a pair of third-place finishes (The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club; Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS). It was enough to fulfill a lifelong dream.

Whitney first burst onto the TOUR radar as a Monday qualifier for the 2017 Shriners Children’s Open, the first TOUR start by an Air Force Academy graduate and a sign he could hang at this level. Three months later, he made his first TOUR cut at The American Express (T67, 7-under) in La Quinta, California, the city where he attended high school.

The adopted Dallas-area resident hasn't teed it up on the PGA TOUR since 2018 – but that will change next spring.

Whitney ranked 19th on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List following the Magnit Championship in August, and his path to the PGA TOUR appeared near completion. He had solidified a spot in all four Korn Ferry Tour Finals events, a reimagined series that features reduced fields (156, 144, 120, 75 players) and culminates with 30 PGA TOUR cards awarded after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

With his early-fall schedule solidified, Whitney turned his gaze toward cementing that top-30 position. A tie for eighth at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron followed by a T26 finish at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation vaulted him to No. 16 on the Points List. A missed cut at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship dropped him to 17th on the Points List heading into the season finale, with the top 16 having mathematically clinched, and Whitney needed to simply dodge a one-in-a-million scenario at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

Whitney was beginning to realize his dream, as were his family and friends. His parents drove from Indiana to Arizona and his in-laws flew in, as did countless friends and supporters from the journey. The celebration was on.

Whitney completed the Korn Ferry Tour Championship on the ninth green Sunday at Victoria National Golf Club, and he was quickly greeted by his children. “You’re #TOURBound!” son Skyler informed his dad as he ran onto the green, joined by his siblings Zoey, Owen and Charlotte Bobbie. It was a T61 finish that felt like a trophy ceremony – because it was. A PGA TOUR card, after all, is the Korn Ferry Tour’s ultimate prize.

Whitney did enough over the 2023 season to give himself some breathing room at the end, and the No. 21 spot on the final Korn Ferry Tour Points List was plenty for his first PGA TOUR card.

Whitney knows he could have made a comfortable living in the Air Force and been well on his way to retirement at this point, after nearly a decade at various levels of professional golf. It could be easy to let doubt creep in while reflecting on the decision to leave the service to pursue professional golf.

He knows, though, that he couldn’t have lived with himself if he didn’t give the pro game a full go. He did, and now he’s headed to the PGA TOUR.

“Separated (from the Air Force) in 2014 and here we are, 2023, I could be well over halfway to retirement in the Air Force and still be pulling a pretty good paycheck with guaranteed promotions,” Whitney said after the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. “So it was a very difficult decision to separate early and chase this dream. The fact that I have this validation of keeping faith in my life and where I feel like God’s leading me, and the journey’s still going on the golf course, I’m pretty excited about that.”

An Air Force Academy graduate has now earned a PGA TOUR card in two consecutive seasons, as Whitney joins Kyle Westmoreland (Air Force Academy Class of 2014), who earned his first TOUR card via the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

For a journey that has no distinct path, a process that has no guaranteed outcome, Tom Whitney’s path to the PGA TOUR is complete. Consider it set for launch.