With a little luck and a lot of skill, Noah Goodwin clinches TOUR card

The wait was excruciating.

Noah Goodwin spent the last 17 years pursuing a PGA TOUR card. The final two hours were the hardest.

Goodwin, 24, sat in the clubhouse at French Lick Golf Resort, site of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, and craned his neck to get a view of Golf Channel’s final round coverage. He had done all he could to secure his PGA TOUR card, but his fate was now in the hands of others. Lingering right around the top-30 bubble, Goodwin watched his name fall in and out of the projections with every shift in the leaderboard.

Most knew their fate, for better or worse, well in advance. Goodwin had to wait until the last putts. The final pairing of Brian Campbell and Doc Redman arrived at the 18th green with Goodwin’s dream on the face of their putters. Neither was going to win nor did their putts have any influence on where they would play next year. But if either missed their mid-ranger for par, the leaderboard would have shifted enough to knock Goodwin out of the top 30 and keep him from obtaining a PGA TOUR card.

They both poured in their putts. Tears quickly poured out of Goodwin. He was officially #TOURBound, finishing 30th in the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, earning the last TOUR card up by a mere 16 points.

“I got lucky but it takes a lot of luck to play this game and it takes a lot of luck to get where we’re going so I’m just grateful,” Goodwin said. “Seven-year-old me would be really proud right now.”

It takes a lot of good golf, too. Goodwin notched six top 10s, second most of any player without a win on the season, capturing his card through consistency. His best finish was a tie for third at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper.

Goodwin’s talent has long been known – a future on the PGA TOUR expected. He’s one of five players in history to win consecutive AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year Awards, joining Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Brian Harman and Tracy Phillips. Goodwin improbably won the 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur, overcoming a 4-down deficit with eight to play to beat Matthew Wolff. It also came a year after Goodwin lost in the final of the U.S. Junior to Min Woo Lee.

Goodwin had his choice of colleges and narrowed it down to Alabama or Southern Methodist, ultimately choosing to stay closer to home at SMU. He played five seasons for the Mustangs and left the school with the second-best career scoring average (71.24), behind only Bryson DeChambeau.

Goodwin quickly acquired Korn Ferry Tour status after winning twice on PGA TOUR Canada in the summer of 2022. He struggled in his first year, though, finishing No. 110 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and losing his status. He needed to shoot 5-under in the final round of the Second Stage of Q-School presented by Korn Ferry just to advance to Final Stage. He shot 8-under, then finished T12 at Final Stage to secure 12 guaranteed starts. He quickly took advantage, carding back-to-back top-10s to begin 2024 and start the rise that culminated in French Lick, Indiana.

“I always fight, until the last putt drops every single round. I got nothing better to do out there except just give it my all,” Goodwin said.

His all is enough for the PGA TOUR.

About Noah Goodwin

• Age: 24
• Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Alma mater: Southern Methodist University
• PGA TOUR starts: 3
• Cuts made: 1

Notes: Three-time All-American at Southern Methodist University … Former Junior Presidents Cup and Junior Ryder Cup participant… Was diagnosed with pituitary dwarfism at age 9, a condition caused by the pituitary gland failing to manufacture the natural growth hormone. Doctors prescribed nightly injections of growth hormone that allowed him to reach a normal height … Avid video game player, preferring "Overwatch 2," "Call of Duty" and "Apex Legends" … Big Dallas Cowboys fan.