Four months into pro career, Karl Vilips earns first PGA TOUR card

Karl Vilips came to America with the dream of becoming a PGA TOUR pro. Last week, he achieved that dream.

Vilips finished No. 19 on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Points List, comfortably inside the top 30 to earn 2025 PGA TOUR membership. The Stanford alum did so in just 10 starts; no other player in the top 30 earned a TOUR card in less than 17 starts.

Vilips earned conditional Korn Ferry Tour membership via the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking (finishing No. 10) and was planning to spend the summer in Canada, as he held full status on PGA TOUR Americas. But the Australia native finished T13 in his first Korn Ferry Tour start at The Ascendant presented by Blue, kick-starting a run of four straight top-15 finishes that culminated with a victory at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health in early August. His efforts were plenty for a TOUR card, as Vilips finished 202 points ahead of No. 30 Noah Goodwin on the season-long standings.

Although it marks an accelerated learning curve in the pro game, the long-hitting Vilips’ success is not without precedent, as he joins Adrien Dumont de Chassart (2023) in graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour within months of earning status via PGA TOUR University.

Vilips hails from Perth, Australia, where he started playing tournaments at age 6 or 7. With his dad Paul, he moved to the United States at age 11, and he began attending Saddlebrook Academy in Florida three years later. He progressed from there to Stanford, where teammates included close friend Michael Thorbjornsen, who finished No. 1 on this year’s PGA TOUR University Ranking to earn automatic TOUR membership. Thorbjornsen and Vilips recently moved into the same apartment complex outside Jacksonville, Florida, as well.

Vilips has diligently chronicled his journey through the ranks on his YouTube channel, largely with the support of his dad, who would record golf shots and provide commentary. Paul Vilips was on-site in Utah to witness his son earn his first professional title, a full-circle moment for the family. Now they’re headed to the PGA TOUR.

“We're just going to try to win every time we step up on the first tee of a tournament,” Vilips said in Utah, “and the expectations now are to get that PGA TOUR card.”

Mission accomplished.

About Karl Vilips

• Age: 23
• Hometown: Perth, Australia
• Alma mater: Stanford University
• PGA TOUR starts: 1
• Cuts made: 0

Notes: Played four seasons at Stanford University (2021-24), earning his lone collegiate victory at the 2024 Pac-12 Conference Championship … Runner-up finisher at the 2023 North and South Amateur Championship, falling to future PGA TOUR winner Nick Dunlap in the championship match … Reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 U.S. Amateur Championship at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club and was eliminated on his 18th birthday … Fantasy football enthusiast.