In case you haven’t noticed, the future is already here on the PGA Tour.
Thanks to the updated PGA Tour University program that rewards the top collegiate players with PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour status, we’re already seeing the next generation on the big stage.
In the last few weeks, you’ve already seen last year’s top college player, Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, make four starts on the PGA Tour as a professional and even finish T4 last week at the John Deere Classic.
Two other players, Ricky Castillo and Adrien Dumont De Chassart, both earned Korn Ferry status immediately after college and won in their very first starts.
So is there anyone else we should see coming?
Castillo, who played for the stacked, national champion Florida Gators, stuck with his guys.
“It’s hard not to go with Fred [Biondi] and Yuxin [Lin], honestly,” Castillo told GOLF’s Subpar co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode. “Yuxin was just itching to get out and play professional golf and, obviously, Fred’s done incredible things in college golf and deserves to be where he is.”
He might be going with his teammates, but it’s not hard to see why. Biondi was No. 2 on the PGA Tour U rankings, just behind Aberg, after capping his college career with a win at the Division I NCAA Championships in May.
Lin had himself a strong final season in Gainsville, racking up a run of five-straight top-10s in the middle of the year, including a win at the Southern Highlands Collegiate. In his first pro start on the Korn Ferry Tour, he finished T15 at the Compliance Solutions Championship.
“Once they get more comfortable out there and kind of get a little more used to it, I think they’re going to go out there and dominate, just like the rest of us have been doing,” Castillo said. “It’s just golf realistically. It’s not any different than college golf. It’s just all on your own.”
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