Team GolfXYZ
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida: Will Gordon, who began the week without a status, scripted a fairy tale by the end of it with a third-place finish and a good chance of earning the PGA Tour card for 2020-21.
The 23-year-old’s tied third place at Travelers Championship earned him enough points to get a Special Temporary Status, which makes him eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season as he attempts to earn his PGA TOUR card for the 2020-21 season.
Gordon, from Davidson, North Carolina, is now eligible, played on a sponsor exemption at the Travelers Championship. He shot a second-round 62 and finished in a tie for third, earning 163 non-member FedExCup points to secure Special Temporary Membership. Gordon has made seven starts on the season and collected an additional top-10 at The RSM Classic in November 2019.
To earn full status on the PGA TOUR for the 2020-21 season, Gordon must earn as many or more points through the non-member FedExCup points list as No. 125 on the 2019-20 season FedExCup standings. Gordon currently has 296 points, and for reference, that would fall between Nos. 78 and 79 in the current FedExCup standings. No. 125 currently has 191 points.
With the Korn Ferry Tour Final and Qualifying Tournament for 2020 having been cancelled Gordon’s only route to the PGA TOUR for the 2020-21 season are through the non-member FedExCup points list or a victory on TOUR.
In May, the Korn Ferry Tour announced modifications to the 2020 schedule and a fall calendar of events that would be part of a one-time, combined 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season. The adjustments resulted in the loss of a graduating class via the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020, and pushed the next available Qualifying Tournament to 2021.
Gordon made nine starts on Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada during the 2019 season, making eight cuts and earning two top-10 finishes to end the season No. 21 on the Order of Merit.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Gordon was named the 2019 SEC Player of the Year as a senior and turned professional following his graduation.
Special Temporary Members are not eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs, but Special Temporary Members or non-members who subsequently become regular PGA TOUR members by winning an official event during the season will be counted on the FedExCup points list, along with any FedExCup points earned as a non-member (excluding those won at World Golf Championships events as a non-member) and thus be eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs.
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