CARLSBAD, Calif. – After a record-setting senior season for the Tar Heels, North Carolina’s David Ford finished No. 1 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2025 and secured PGA TOUR membership through the 2026 season. In all, the top 25 seniors in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking, representing 22 schools and 10 countries, earned membership on the PGA TOUR (No. 1), Korn Ferry Tour (Nos. 2-10) and PGA TOUR Americas (Nos. 11-25) following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship.

Ford’s collegiate career ended May 14 at the Urbana Regional, when he finished T11 individually and North Carolina finished sixth, one spot short of qualifying for this week’s NCAA Championship. The postseason exit was a blemish to an otherwise exceptional senior campaign that included five individual titles, a single-season school record. Ford also finished with the lowest career scoring average in program history (70.13), was a finalist for the Hogan Award, and is a finalist for the Haskins Award presented by Stifel and D-I Nicklaus Award.

Ford joins Ludvig Åberg (2023) and Michael Thorbjornsen (2024) as players to earn their PGA TOUR cards as the No. 1 player in PGA TOUR University. After making his pro debut at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge (MC), Ford will make his first start as a TOUR member at the RBC Canadian Open, June 5-8.

Ole Miss junior Michael La Sasso carded an even-par 72 Monday to finish at 11-under and secure a two-stroke victory over Texas A&M senior Phichaksn Maichon. It is La Sasso’s third win of his 2024-25 campaign, which is the first year of his two-year ranking period for the PGA TOUR U Class of 2026.

The runner-up finish for Maichon helped him move from No. 10 to No. 6 in the final Class of 2025 PGA TOUR University Ranking. By finishing Nos. 6-10, Maichon earned exempt membership on Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of 2025 and will be exempt into Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

Also improving his status at NCAAs was UCLA’s Pablo Ereno Perez. The Spaniard finished sixth to improve from No. 12 to No. 10, thus upgrading his benefits from PGA TOUR Americas membership (finishers Nos. 11-25) to Korn Ferry Tour membership (finishers Nos. 2-10).

In addition to Ford, a second PGA TOUR card was earned on Monday, as Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun tallied his 20th point in PGA TOUR University Accelerated to secure TOUR membership. Koivun finished T4 in stroke play, and the top-10 resulted in the final point he needed to cross the 20-point threshold in Accelerated. The 20-year-old is the third player to earn his card through PGA TOUR University Accelerated, joining Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent and Florida State’s Luke Clanton.

The Class of 2025 is the fifth class of PGA TOUR University graduates, and 100 players have earned performance benefits since 2021. PGA TOUR membership for the 2025 season features 17 PGA TOUR U alumni, including nine in the top 100 of the FedExCup, and 23 alumni have combined for 36 professional victories worldwide.

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PGA TOUR University First Team

By finishing No. 1 in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking, Ford earned PGA TOUR membership through the 2026 season, and the RBC Canadian Open (June 5-8) is expected to be his first start as a member.

Players who finished Nos. 2-5 in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking earned exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership for the remainder of the 2025 season, starting with the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX (June 5-8). Additionally, these players are exempt to Final Stage of 2025 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

No. 1 | David Ford, North Carolina

• As a senior, set the UNC single-season record with five wins and became the first Tar Heel ever to win three consecutive starts
• Tied with Dustin Bray for most individual victories (7) in school history, and finished with the lowest career scoring average in program history (70.13)
• Named ACC Player of the Year in 2023 and ACC Freshman of the Year in 2022
• Represented the United States at the Walker Cup (2023), Palmer Cup (2023, 2024) and World Amateur Team Championship (2023)

No. 2 | Brendan Valdes, Auburn

• Helped lead Auburn to its first National Championship in program history in 2024, capturing key match play victories in the semifinals and finals to help his team secure the title
• Earned three individual victories during his career
• Named First Team All-SEC and PING First Team All-American in 2024
• Represented the victorious United States at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup

No. 3 | Jose Luis Ballester, Arizona State

• Won the 2024 U.S. Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, becoming the first Spaniard to capture the Havemeyer Trophy
• Captured his lone collegiate victory at the 2024 Fighting Illini Invitational
• Won the 2023 European Amateur Championship, earning an exemption into the 151st Open Championship where he made his PGA TOUR debut
• Represented the International team at the Arnold Palmer Cup (2022-24), Team Europe at the Bonallack Trophy (2025), and Spain at the European Amateur Team Championship (2022-24)

No. 4 | Ian Gilligan, Florida

• Tallied six career victories, collecting four titles at Long Beach State and two at Florida
• Through his win at the 2024 Southern Highlands Collegiate, earned an exemption into the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open; went on to finish T16, becoming the third amateur to make the cut in the event’s history
• Won the 2024 Western Amateur, defeating Florida teammate Jack Turner after 29 holes in the championship match, marking the longest Western Amateur final since 2017

No. 5 | Jackson Van Paris, Vanderbilt

• Collected his second collegiate victory at the 2025 Amherst Regional, becoming the second Commodore in school history to win an NCAA Regional (William Moll)
• At 14 years old, became the youngest player since Bobby Jones (1916) to win a U.S. Amateur match, defeating Dylan Perry in the Round of 64 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur
• Finished T10 in his PGA TOUR debut at the 2024 Puerto Rico Open, closing with a bogey-free 8-under 64
• Represented the United States in the 2019 Junior Presidents Cup and the 2024 Palmer Cup

PGA TOUR University Second Team

Players who finished Nos. 6-10 in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking earned exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership for the remainder of the 2025 season, starting with the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX (June 5-8). Additionally, these players are exempt to Second Stage of 2025 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

No. 6 | Phichaksn Maichon, Texas A&M

• Earned four individual titles in his collegiate career, and finished runner-up at the NCAA D-1 Men’s Golf Championship to move to No. 6 in the ranking
• Represented the victorious Asia-Pacific team at the 2025 Bonallack Trophy and the International team at the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup
• Named PING All-Central Region for three consecutive seasons (2023-25)

No. 7 | Preston Summerhays, Arizona State

• Helped lead Arizona State to match play at the NCAA Championship three times (2022, 2023, 2025), highlighted by a team runner-up finish in 2022
• Won the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, earning an exemption into his PGA TOUR debut at the 2020 U.S. Open, held at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York
• Represented the United States at the Walker Cup (2023), Palmer Cup (2023, 2024) and the Junior Presidents Cup (2019)
• Named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year (2022), First-Team All-American (2023), and PING All-West Region team all four seasons (2022-25)

No. 8 | Sebastian Moss, Louisville

• After debuting as No. 20 in the PGA TOUR U Preseason Ranking, finished No. 8 and improved his performance benefits off the strength of three victories his senior season
• Became the first player in Louisville history to win back-to-back tournaments (2023 Bearcat Invitational, 2023 Rod Myers Invitational)
• Selected to the PING All-Midwest Region team for three straight years (2023-25)

No. 9 | Omar Morales, UCLA

• Collected three collegiate victories, highlighted by a win at the 2025 Big Ten Men’s Golf Championship to solidify his place inside the top 10 of the PGA TOUR University Ranking
• Closed his amateur career as the highest-ranked Latin player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (No. 12)
• Finished runner-up at the 2024 Latin America Amateur Championship, falling by two strokes to countryman Santiago De la Fuente
• Named All-Pac-12 First Team (2023, 2024) and All-West Region team (2024, 2025)

No. 10 | Pablo Ereno Perez, UCLA

• Began the NCAA Championship outside of the top 10 of the ranking, and off the strength of a solo-sixth finish moved into the No. 10 spot
• Represented Europe at the 2025 Bonallack Trophy and Spain at the 2024 European Amateur Team Championship
• Named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team (2022) and PING All-West Region team (2024, 2025)

PGA TOUR University Third Team

Players who finished Nos. 11-25 in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking earned exempt membership on PGA TOUR Americas for the remainder of the 2025 season, starting with the Explore NB Open (July 3-6). Additionally, these players are exempt to Second Stage of 2025 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.

• No. 11 | Algot Kleen, LSU
• No. 12 | Jackson Buchanan, Illinois
• No. 13 | Justin Hastings, San Diego State
• No. 14 | Carson Bacha, Auburn
• No. 15 | Drew Goodman, Oklahoma
• No. 16 | Caden Fioroni, UNLV
• No. 17 | Calum Scott, Texas Tech
• No. 18 | Buck Brumlow, Georgia
• No. 19 | Jake Peacock, South Florida
• No. 20 | Enrique Dimayuga, SMU
• No. 21 | Nathan Franks, South Carolina
• No. 22 | Kieron van Wyk, Charleston
• No. 23 | Gray Albright, Florida State
• No. 24 | Hunter Thomson, Michigan
• No. 25 | Nicholas Mathews, NC State

PGA TOUR University Class of 2025 | Final Top 25

What’s at Stake

The top 25 players in the final Class of 2025 PGA TOUR University Ranking earned the following performance benefits: