Karl Vilips named the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year – Australian Golf Digest

by Admin
November 14, 2024

[PHOTO: Getty Images]

The PGA Tour announced today that Australia’s Karl Vilips has been named the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year, as voted by the Korn Ferry Tour membership.

Vilips turned professional out of Stanford University after a No.10 finish in the 2024 PGA Tour University Ranking. Vilips began his professional career on PGA Tour Americas, making two starts prior to his Korn Ferry Tour debut in July as a sponsor exemption at The Ascendant, the 17th event of the tour’s 26-event season. Vilips, who held conditional Korn Ferry Tour membership via PGA Tour University performance benefits, played his way into The Ascendant with a runner-up finish in the Korn Ferry Tour member division of a qualifying tournament, through which the event awarded four of its five sponsor exemptions.

The 23-year-old West Australian posted back-to-back top-25s in his first two Korn Ferry Tour starts, followed by a runner-up finish at the NV5 Invitational, and a win at the Utah Championship in what were his third and fourth starts on tour.

Vilips won the Utah Championship at 22 years, 11 months and 19 days of age, making him the second-youngest winner on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024, behind only South African Aldrich Potgieter, who became the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history at 19 years, four months and 11 days. Vilips and Potgieter were the only rookie winners on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024, in addition to being the only Korn Ferry Tour rookies who earned PGA Tour membership for the 2025 season.

Vilips needed just 10 starts to finish 19th on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and earn PGA Tour membership. Vilips tallied seven top-25s in his 10 starts, including a T-20 at the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

Vilips also followed Adrien Dumont de Chassart (2023) as the second player to join the Korn Ferry Tour via PGA Tour University performance benefits and earn a PGA Tour card in the same season.

In four seasons at Stanford, Vilips earned a 2024 All-America Second Team honour, three All-Pac-12 Conference laurels (First Team in 2023 and 2024, Second Team in 2022), and earned his lone collegiate victory at the 2024 Pac-12 Championship. Vilips concluded his collegiate career ranked fifth in Stanford history in career scoring average (71.04), trailing Tiger Woods (70.96), Michael Thorbjornsen (70.40), Patrick Rodgers (70.31) and school record holder Maverick McNealy (70.12).

Vilips, who has one previous start on the PGA Tour (2023 US Open), will be a tour rookie in 2025.

Winners of the Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year: Karl Vilips (2024), Adrien Dumont de Chassart (2023), S.H. Kim (2022), Greyson Sigg (2020-2021), Scottie Scheffler (2019), Sungjae Im (2018).