Young Australian golf stars Karl Vilips and Cassie Porter have earned promotions to the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour respectively for 2025 after they survived brutal season-ending tournaments on the American secondary tours to achieve their lifelong dreams.

Vilips finished 19th in the Korn Ferry Tour’s end of standings to secure one of the 30 PGA Tour cards on offer and cap off a rapid rise to the premier US tour since turning professional in June, while Porter came 11th in the Epson Tour’s ‘Race to the Card’ to ensure one of the 15 LPGA Tour up for grabs was hers.

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Twenty-three-year-old Vilips followed in the footsteps of Tiger Woods by playing collegiate golf for Stanford University in California – he graduated in May – and he was even wearing Woods’ new ‘Sun Day Red’ line of clothes at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Indiana.

Vilips is also part of the new generation of golfers who rise to prominence on social media.

‘Koala Karl’ boasts almost 40,000 subscribers on YouTube and his channel began more than a decade ago with videos showing off his skills at a young age as well as highlights from amateur events he took part in.

The Melbourne born, West Australian has been a player to watch coming through the ranks as he qualified for last year’s US Open to play in his first major, he twice won the US Kids World Championship and he competed in the Junior Presidents Cup as well as representing Australian in international amateur events despite moving to Florida in high school.

He started professional life with a bang, winning his fourth event on the Korn Ferry Tour after finishing runner-up the week prior.

He entered the Korn Ferry Tour Championship – his tenth start of the season on the secondary US tour – off the back of two consecutive missed cuts but held his nerve to finish tied 20th in the four-round tournament to maintain his top 30 position.

Now, Vilips feels like he is ready to take it up the game’s best with his eye’s set not only playing his way into the majors on the PGA Tour, but also is determined to one day represent Australia at the Olympic Games.

In an interview following his maiden Korn Ferry Tour triumph, Vilips showed that he has the self-confidence to chase those dreams.

“We always say ‘I’m good enough to do it’. It’s just a matter of when I’m going to do it,” he said.

“When I stepped out on the course the first week (on the Korn Ferry Tour), the first one I qualified for, I was confident in my abilities to compete.

“I felt I had the game. I felt like I was ready.”

For Porter, it has been a slightly longer journey to the top flight of women’s golf albeit she was also a prodigiously talented junior.

The Queenslander turned professional in 2021 at just 18 years of age after representing Australia as an amateur and plied her trade on the WPGA Tour of Australasia before heading to America last year.

In her maiden season on the Epson Tour, Porter managed two top ten finishes from 17 starts to take home just US$32,700 for the year, but her second season has been more fruitful.

She picked up her first victory on the secondary US tour in June and registered another three top ten finishes to place her in 11th in the Race to the Card at the beginning of the Epson Tour Championship.

Porter’s standing put her in a nervy position at the season-ending tournament in California, but she maintained a cool head to finish tied for 17th at nine-under par across 72 holes.

“I’ve dreamed about this since I was a little girl so for it to be real – so soon – I’m stoked,” Porter said.

“I’m actually really struggling to believe it. We’ve worked for this for so long. Even when I finished on 18 today, I had no idea.

“In my brain I was like ‘there’s no way I’m making top ten, so excited for top 15 but there’s no chance (of top ten). But as things progressed, we made it.

“I still can’t believe it. Hopefully it sinks in soon.”

The addition of two of Australia’s finest young talents expands the Australian assault on America’s tours.

Vilips will join Adam Scott, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee and Cam Davis as Australians with PGA Tour cards for 2025, while the likes of Aaron Baddeley and Harrison Endycott – who were demoted to the Korn Ferry Tour – may feature in some events if they play well in Monday qualifying.

As for the LPGA Tour, the season does not end until next month, but Porter adds to a strong Australian contingent.

Hannah Green, Minjee Lee, Gabriela Ruffels, Grace Kim and Steph Kyriacou all rank inside the top 70 in the world, while Hira Naveed, Sarah Kemp, Robyn Choi and Karis Davidson have all featured regularly on women’s golf’s premier tour this year.

“They have pathed such an amazing path for all of us and all we want to do is follow in their footsteps,” Porter said.

“I think Hannah, Minjee, Gracie, Steph and Gabbi – winning three times last year on the Epson Tour – they’re all amazing role models and I’m so excited to join them and be like ‘hey girls, we’re all LPGA, this is really cool’.”