PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR announced Thursday that Johnny Keefer has won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year, as well as 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year honors, with both awards being determined by a Korn Ferry Tour membership vote. Keefer, who finished No. 1 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List off the strength of two victories, becomes the third player to sweep both awards, following two-time PGA TOUR winner Sungjae Im (2018) and FedExCup champion Scottie Scheffler (2019).

In addition to victories at the 2025 Veritex Bank Championship and 2025 NV5 Invitational, Keefer led all Korn Ferry Tour players in top-five finishes (six), top 10s (nine) and top 25s (15) as he finished No. 1 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

By virtue of finishing No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, Keefer earned exemptions for the 2026 PLAYERS Championship and 2026 U.S. Open.

Keefer, a Baltimore, Maryland, native who plays from San Antonio, Texas, also broke the Korn Ferry Tour record for single-season scoring average, finishing with a 67.95 average to break the record previously established by Luke Guthrie (68.33 in 2012). Additionally, Keefer was the only player on Tour to finish the season in the top 15 in Scrambling (second, 67.17 percent), Total Driving (fourth), Putting Average (10th, 1.716 putts per green in regulation) and Greens in Regulation Percentage (15th, 74.62 percent).

Keefer also rose to No. 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking earlier this month. Should Keefer be ranked in the top 50 of the final OWGR published in the 2025 calendar year, he will earn an exemption for the 2026 Masters Tournament. Following his professional debut on PGA TOUR Americas in June 2024, Keefer stood No. 1,654 in the OWGR.

Keefer’s rapid rise through the PGA TOUR Pathways system began with a No. 25 finish in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking, the last position that awarded performance benefits. Keefer moved into the top 25 with a T11 finish at the 2024 NCAA Championship, his final collegiate event in five seasons at Baylor University, where he broke the school record for career scoring average (71.45) previously established by six-time PGA TOUR winner Jimmy Walker.

In his debut season on PGA TOUR Americas, Keefer finished No. 1 in the 2024 Fortinet Cup standings with a win and four runner-up finishes, earning Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2025 season.

Eight of the 10 most recent Korn Ferry Tour Players of the Year are now PGA TOUR winners, including Matt McCarty (2024), Stephan Jaeger (2020-21), Scottie Scheffler and Sungjae Im (2018).

Both the Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year and Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year are determined by a member vote. Keefer received 84 percent of the vote for Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year, followed by three other players who received votes: Chandler Blanchet, Emilio Gonzalez and Neal Shipley. Keefer earned 88 percent of the vote for Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year, while Shipley and S.T. Lee also received votes.

Winners of the Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year: Matt McCarty (2024), Ben Kohles (2023), Justin Suh (2022), Stephen Jaeger (2020-21), Scottie Scheffler (2019), Sungjae Im (2018), Chesson Hadley (2017), Wesley Bryan (2016), Patton Kizzire (2015), Carlos Ortiz (2014), Michael Putnam (2013), Casey Wittenberg (2012), J.J. Killeen (2011), Jamie Lovemark (2010), Michael Sim (2009), Brendon de Jonge (2008), Nick Flanagan (2007), Ken Duke (2006), Jason Gore (2005), Jimmy Walker (2004), Zach Johnson (2003), Patrick Moore (2002), Chad Campbell (2001), Spike McRoy (2000), Carl Paulson (1999), Bob Burns (1998), Chris Smith (1997), Stewart Cink (1996), Jerry Kelly (1995), Chris Perry (1994), Sean Murphy (1993), John Flannery (1992), Tom Lehman (1991), Jeff Maggert (1990)

Winners of the Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year: Karl Vilips (2024), Adrien Dumont de Chassart (2023), S.H. Kim (2022), Greyson Sigg (2020-21), Scottie Scheffler (2019), Sungjae Im (2018)