Aaron Goldberg: Hey everyone.
Welcome back to the PGA Players Podcast.
I'm your host, Aaron Goldberg.
Today we have a great guest for our conversation, Brendan von Dorin.
Brendan is a Vice president at the PGA Tour and Executive
Director of PGA Tour University.
He's also a former college player and college coach, which gives him some
great perspective for his current role.
Brendan, welcome.
Thanks for being here.
I'm excited to have you back, and have a conversation about
the evolution of PGA Tour u.
Brendan von Doehren: Thanks Aaron.
Thanks for having me on and, look forward to the conversation.
Aaron Goldberg: Great.
Let's start at the beginning.
it's been, it's pretty crazy to think it's been five years.
how did PJ Tour you come to exist?
Give us a little background there.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah.
Awesome.
It is kind of crazy how time flies, but, I would sort of go back to kind
of, the ideation for me came through a lot of the past experiences as you
sort of referenced in the game, both playing and coaching, as well as just
kind of other experie in professional leagues and, you know, a yearning for.
Historical learnings from other sports.
I think early on, you know, a lot of the drive for me with PGA two RU
was just kind of a passion, I would say a healthy obsession and kind
of a purpose for really envisioning something you hope is successful.
But, it really was kind of an accumulation of thought.
I can't really pinpoint a time exactly when.
You know, the light bulb moments sort of came on with PGA Tour U, but really
I think, you know, at a fundamental level, the approach on really the
initiative was how do we think differently and kind of modernize the PGA tour's
connection to college golf, which I would sort of define and categorize
as sort of two separate organizations.
You know, for over six decades that had an informal relationship up until PGA tour U.
So, you know, the goal for us was, and sort of is still now, to kind of
create obviously a really powerful, preeminent property in the sport within
this space that will stand the test of time and the evolution, you know, five
years ago when we launched to now to sort of looking forward into the game.
So that was kind of the impetus of PGA tour u kind of in, in a nutshell.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, it's super interesting and you brought something
up that I think is great to touch on.
You mentioned experience in other sports and.
One thing we've talked about in the past, other sports have a draft.
You know, college players play well.
They kind of showcase their talents and then those leagues have teams and they're
drafting players into, either directly into their league, like the NFL and the
N-B-A-N-B-A has the D league, of course.
baseball's a little different.
They're drafting, but then kind of going through the development
process in the minor leagues.
Maybe touch on that a little bit on how you use that experience and maybe touch,
use that as a model for building this out.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, I think we, you know, early on we took it at a wide kind
of cross section of the leagues, you know, N-F-L-N-B-A and the drafts, and I think.
You know, ours is kind of an accumulation, a lot of the drafts
sort of scouting and free agency.
Right.
And how you sort of create that pipeline.
But for us it was really kind of a meritocratic draft, so to speak,
where everything is objective.
It's through, you know, performance on the golf course.
but it was something that, you know, we wanted to create kind
of a proprietary tool, right?
And a ranking that we own, we operate.
sort of, feel, you know, as a great identifier of talent and really use
that kind of as the springboard for, you know, how players really matriculate
to our tours from the PGA tour, Korn Ferry tour and PGA Tour Americas.
Aaron Goldberg: That's great.
Yeah, I mean, you touch on it being a meritocracy and golf's the ultimate
sport where the numbers are what matter.
you can look like a great player.
You can have a beautiful swing, you have a great putting stroke, but
really all that matters is what the number is at the end of the day and
what your score is where you finish.
You know, one of the things we talk about a lot here is, you know,
how do players create, capture and convert their talents into value?
And I think this is, you know, a good way of explaining for a college
player, looking at, hey, how do their results are going to be their results.
They need to work on their game back home and what their coaches, and
they're gonna have their results.
But the PGA Tour has developed this program where now.
They can capture some of that talent and move on to directly on to some of
these tours and have a pa clear pathway to the PGA tour where, not to age myself
or you, but back when in our days, you know, you turned, you, you finished
college and you really had the whole summer to figure out what you were
gonna do and then you went to Q school and that was really all there was.
There wasn't a pathway.
So I think it's really interesting to see how.
the clear paths that are set forth all the way down to, what is it,
25th on the rankings, has some sort of status at this point.
Brendan von Doehren: Correct.
Yeah.
We've expanded our benefits in the five years from the first initial class of
20 20, 21 with 15 players now to, you know, top 25 players and expansion.
and I want to kind of to pivot on one of the points you said
there, in addition to the ranking.
I think one of the powerful aspects we.
Really kind of a word that defines PGA two RU.
We hope as we go forward and you think about players is really
being an aspirational lane and a pathway for that top talent, right?
We think about players from all around the world, the different
growth development stages, players in international federations.
You got a JGA, you come to college, we transition to professional golf, right?
We want sort of that sense of those players, see the players
that have come before them.
Sort of the alumni, the player product, and aspire to be them.
And I think for us in the five years we've seen the physical sense of that.
When that sort of be, you know, becomes powerful, it becomes a phenomenon
that sort of is a yields itself.
And, you know, something that we keep kind of close to our heart
and in our minds of how we're kind of architecting moving forward.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, that's, it's a great point.
I remember, you know, back when I was playing there, a lot of the universities
and teams had international players, but I feel like it was maybe the.
A minus B plus players that were coming over to play, but those A level players
were staying over in Europe, maybe practicing with their national team
and then finding a pathway to turn pro on the European tour or trying to
find their way over to the PGA tour.
Eventually now it seems like the best international players are
coming to college to be able to get into this type of program or at
least get exposure to the program.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, and we, you know, across our alumni thus
far, roughly 40% of the players that have earned performance benefits in
PGA two EU have been international.
So, I mean, that just kind of speaks to, once again, the migration to the
collegiate game, which I think is really that, most premier proving
ground and player development ground of, you know, the resources
and, everything at the disposal.
Of these top universities is really that attraction point.
And then I think you layer on now the direct pathways of PGA, tour U it makes
all the sense to, to continue to stay in school, continue to reap the benefits
and have that transition to pro golf.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, you talk about staying in school and
have the benefits, I mean.
Looking at some of the facilities around the country, I, you know,
I'd wanna stay in school for about eight years at this point.
PGA Tour is very enticing, but man, some of these facilities look great.
So, add on, coaches handling a lot of the logistics and, maybe a scholarship.
I'd say in I'd be, van Wilder for a while and stay in school.
So, That's great.
maybe touch on where we're at now in terms of what the benefits are going
from number one all the way down to 25.
What does that look like?
Both for the year that they graduate and beyond.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah.
And I would sort of say just to kind of drill into that a
little bit where we're at today.
I think, you know, we, I think positively have really restructured
this transition process when we think about, kind of positively influencing
the player decision making process.
And the why, the win and the how you turn pro now I think is way more
structured than when you and I were, and I think we're seeing the positive
effects really in, you know, the byproduct of that, of more seasoned,
mature, competitively proven players that are hitting the ground, running
in the fields, having the successes.
But, right now to answer your question, so the top 25 players annually, on the final
PGA Tour U ranking following the NCAA National Championship stroke play portion.
Earn membership benefits onto one of our tours, starting at the top
with the number one player, to the PGA tour, the following week.
And they'll exempt, they're exempt for the current season plus the following season.
So essentially roughly kind of a year and a half on the PGA tour.
players 2 to 10 are exempt the following week onto the Korn Ferry tour.
That's been an expansion of benefits this last class of
2025, for the current season.
And then they have a little bit of a play in category amongst
themselves for the following year's access on the Korn Ferry tour.
So again, really kind of strength and benefits for that top 2 to 10 tier.
And then players 11 to 25, right after the NCAA National Championship to PGA
Tour Americas for the current season as well as the following season.
So when you look on aggregate, again, it's really a nice chunk of players that we've
been able to gradually, strengthen the benefits, you know, from that first class,
as I said, which were top five of the Korn Ferry tour and only 15 total players.
we've seen really that rapid growth kind of in right outta
the infancy of the program.
Aaron Goldberg: That's great.
I mean, to see that 25 players get some sort of access and I think what's,
I don't wanna say bearing the lead, but what's not talked about enough is
having a year and a half as opposed to just the rest of the season.
The.
what I've noticed with whether it be working with directly with players or
just watching the players that graduate and move on and kind of tracking their
progress that first season, you're kind of thrown right into the fire in the
middle of summer and it's fantastic.
It gets your feet wet and you get ready to go, but it's a, it's an uphill
battle and it is difficult, and I think we've seen it in a lot of the results.
That it's a good way for the players to get acclimated to pro golf.
And then we've seen, you know, you probably have the data behind
this, but seems like we've seen a ton of success in the year.
You know, 0.5
to 1.5.
their second true year as a pro, they have a full year to plan out, really
get acclimated and ready to go in the off season, and then they hit the
ground running in that second year.
It seems like we've seen a lot of success there.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, I think you hit on really two success drivers.
We've been able to really kind of identify to set up, set this up is really the
immediacy and the cadence of events.
Guys get in right away, so that is the week following ncaa.
You are, boom, you are transitioning immediately into
our properties for that season.
And then the second aspect is really that length of membership, that length
of time, which you hit on, right?
It's the balance of those two that I think has been.
really kind of optimize the performances that we've seen, whether
it be the immediacy on some, you know, players winning right outta
the gate to the following year.
You got your feet under you and you're really able to kind of,
you know, maximize everything.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah.
Yeah.
No, it's great.
I mean, I think the immediacy gets lost on players sometimes
too, 'cause they're so focused on.
Rightfully so on conference regionals, nationals, and then all of a sudden, you
know, they make match play as a team.
they're usually at the NCA championship till Wednesday or Thursday, and then a
lot of 'em are playing US Open sectional.
the next Monday they're playing 36.
And then, oh yeah, by the way, you're playing either on the PGA
tour or on the Korn Ferry tour event that week, and it happens fast.
And so a lot of things, you know, what we've talked to players about is.
Hey, getting your ducks in a row back in December and January so
that you're not thinking about any logistics when it comes there.
You don't know what tour you're going to be on.
Hopefully you're at finishing number one and on the PGA tour or in that two to 10
category and going to the Korn Ferry tour.
but you're probably going somewhere.
And so have making sure that logistically you're ready to go, man.
All the, all the training wheels fall off the day you turn pro and, That's
you wanna have a good team behind you.
But coach, coach is a big supporter at that point, but he's not,
booking flights or telling you, where and when to be anywhere.
That's for sure.
Brendan von Doehren: No, it's definitely a new life.
We've, you know, gotten feedback from players and you gotta kind of go through
it, yourself, and you gotta learn to adapt and adjust and you know what works for
you and new courses and all those sort of variable elements that are so predictable
in college when you play a schedule for four years in a row in the same courses.
it's been kind of fun to see guys navigate that, but, second to the
top 25, if I'll just kinda layer on, is PJ two are you accelerated?
Just wanna touch on that real quick.
so accelerated was launched in 2023, for really underclassmen kind of, you know,
you think back to really the outliers of achievement, kind of rare talents and
time that have that kind of stacked up.
And really it's a, it's an intuitive points table for us across,
performance and professional, amateur and college golf.
you know, online you can take a look at all of it, but world rank
and winning events, et cetera.
Once you reach 20 points, you earn, PGA tour membership.
Three players thus far have achieved that.
Gordon, Sergeant Luke Clanton and Jackson Koivun Most recently, at the beginning of
this year, in January, 2025, we modified kinda the points table just a little bit.
I think it gave us a chance to pause in time and three players kind of earned it
very different ways and avenues, but, a chance to look at the data, the trends,
the analysis, the path to players, you know, to ensure, again, when you achieve
something like this, you know, your body, you know, of work is very wide
right in achievements to attain this.
So I think we're in a good spot with that.
We'll continue, like everything, whether it be the ranking
or the accelerated table to.
To make adjustments and staying nimble as we move forward, but again,
accelerated as well as PGA tour U Now for us, whether you're a freshman or
a senior, you know, across the way you're playing for something, you know
you have a lane, you have a path for exceptional talent to the PGA tour.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, no, you speak to a good point.
I do wanna come back to those three players in particular
and kind of their path.
But one thing you said about being nimble and adapting, looking at the data and
being able to adapt the system, you know, this isn't meant to be a fluff
piece, but credit to you guys and being nimble and being willing to, adapt as
you go, as opposed to, not just the PGA tour, but I think pro sports in
general, being very stuck in like, Hey, this is the system we set up.
We're gonna sit, stick with it, and.
Not only have the benefits expanded, but I think you, as you've looked at how
the rankings have gone and the players have gone through it, Hey, how can we
continue to make this better and get the right players moving up quicker?
And it's been fantastic to see.
So, not really a question, but just, a thank you for, you know, as a fan
of college golf and as of pro golf and watching really again, being entrenched
with some of the best players in the world, wanting to see the best players in
the world get out on the PGA tour faster.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah.
No, I appreciate that.
And we're, you know, we're not experts in everything, right?
we're just, we're here to listen and learn and kind of evolve as again, things change
in players and their decision making.
Like this is a kind of a live kind of aspect of PJ Tour U
that, that we're proud of.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, I mean, it's amazing to see how young the best
players in the world have gotten.
I, again, I'm not trying to base this on myself or you, but you
know, even just 10 years ago, like.
40 to 45 was a prime of your career.
And now when I talked to, you know, I had a conversation, with a player, this
was going back a couple months, but you know, his comment was, Hey, if I get
to play past 40, I'm gonna be, that's kind of gravy on top of everything else.
And this is one of the best players in the world thinking this.
Like it is a different tour now.
And to see Ludvig come out and win in his first year, some of
these other players win under 23.
You know, Nick Dunlap winning as an amateur.
Luke Clanton going out and doing what he's done.
Jackson Koivun currently doing what he's doing still in college.
You know, it's pretty impressive to see and it's almost like that glass
ceiling got broken and the amateurs, the college players, and even just the
first year players, they have no fear.
Like, Hey, somebody else has won.
I can go do it.
Why can't I?
And it's really neat to see what has the, how has the reception of, the PJ Tour U
program and how quickly players are moving up, been received by, let's say the, not
necessarily the older PJ Tour players, but the veteran PJ Tour players out there.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, I think, you know, a couple aspects of that.
I think number one, sort of we've, you know, stayed really connected
with our alumni now 103 players that are, you know, somewhere in
the world of professional golf.
And I think now five years in, we've been able to see some more proof points on
things, performance of players, right?
that, and this is sort of a bottom line business.
and what are they achieving?
And how are they, you know, out there engaging with, you know, other
pros as sort of younger on tour?
And I think, you know, acceptance, I would say, you know, across the
board for the most part amongst, you know, the membership bases.
and that's something that we're, you know, continuing to monitor and stay aware of.
And.
And, more than anything, I think, you know, as you mentioned, like some of these
top young guys that are really pushing the envelope historically of achievements, you
know, whether it be or whether it be clan.
I mean, within the last couple clips here, we're seeing things, in the time of golf
that has stood up and then that transition to what they're doing in pro golf.
You, I think that really has gained.
you know, the acceptance and the believability that PGA tour you kind of as
a property, as an engine, as an asset, as a competitive advantage for the PGA tour.
This is something that, looking forward is a modernized aspect of the game.
And, you know, yeah.
So we're, you know, but it definitely helps when you think of 103 alumni.
There's gonna be 200 alumni right?
As we move forward, and it's just a bit of a numbers game as we think
of, you know, sort of the players.
matriculate into the tour.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, no, it makes a lot of sense.
I know nobody wants to feel like their spot's getting taken, but at
the same time, there's not a whole lot of argument when scores are what do
the talking, and everyone has their opportunity and, you know, I hate the
phrase play better, but it's true.
Sometimes, you know, at some point, you know you have to play.
If you have status and you're out there playing, you have the
opportunity to stay out there.
And these young kids.
They want to get out there too.
it's probably one of the hardest, if not the hardest professional sport
to play at the highest level because there's just such limited access.
and you know, this year there's gonna be a hundred PGA tour cards.
So, it's, that's a very small number for how many people play golf in this world.
Brendan von Doehren: Yes, absolutely.
Yeah,
Aaron Goldberg: speaking to, like, again, going back to that accelerated program.
You know, we saw was Gordon Sergeant the first one to get the, the
Brendan von Doehren: accelerated.
Yes.
Gordon earned accelerated first deferred his to stay at Vandy for four years.
Came out this past June.
Luke obviously kind of, you know, earned it his junior year
this past year at Florida State.
And then Jackson secured his, at NCAA National Championship and had the
option to immediately, again, sort of.
elect to turn professional, has returned to Auburn, you
know, for his junior year here.
We'll see how it goes.
But, yeah, those are the three players that have really kind of
achieved it in different ways.
different paths.
Not every path is the right one.
I think a lot of it depends on timing and obviously performance.
But, Gordon, you know, and kind of Jackson a lot through the points
table and, you know, world rank.
winning amateur events, et cetera.
Luke was obviously a little bit different.
He kind of lit the world on fire, from a PGA tour perspective last year.
Accumulated a lot of points and really kind of was pedaling downhill
it seemed like all summer long and got to it at Cognizant classics.
So, yeah, going back to what I said, it's just something that we'll continue
to study and ensure that, you know, the totality really of all the achievements,
you know, warrants A-A-P-G-A tour card.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, no, I, it, what I'm impressed with is that it that
incorporates some of the more, summer am like the bigger world amateur events and
some of the rankings where I know the PJ Tour University system, the main one.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe for the most part, excludes
those that were talking about.
Just the, for the most part, just college season and college
events, very intentionally.
Brendan von Doehren: Correct.
Yeah.
PGA Tour U is division one.
Events as well as PGA tour events.
And then, you know, accelerated is a wider arc of, you know, given it's
kind of a shorter, could be a shorter sample size given the age of players,
it sort of widens out a 12 month calendar for, performance evaluation.
Aaron Goldberg: Great.
Yeah.
I don't think anybody can argue against, the three players that have gotten the
or achieved the promotion at this point.
And like you said, in varying ways, but.
it's not, the bar is set plenty high where it's not like, Hey,
too many guys are getting this.
So that seems really good.
you know, going back to what we were talking about with the p the current
player, current membership acceptance of this, there's been a lot of talk
about new PJ Tour leadership and.
I for the better, or I shouldn't say for the better.
I'm gonna stay agnostic on it.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask the question instead, you know, how has the new
leadership handled and discussed the PGA Tour University program with you?
What's their support of it and how do they envision it, supporting
the PGA tour and as a pathway?
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, good question.
And, Brian Ola, our new CEO at the PGA tour.
and, I, I think just in general, you know, our leadership group.
through these five years and more immediately, you know, with Brian.
I think seeing really the importance of player development, talent
regeneration across our tours, really the significance for us as a business
in producing future stars and really the long-term value that these stars like
a Ludwig can create for the enterprise.
And so I think specifically, you know, for college golf, yeah, I think there's
interest to further entrenching ourselves.
within the fabric of college golf and the game strengthening our
brand even more than we have.
And I think, you know, we talked about it early on, but look no further at
really the parallel and comped other professional sports and, you know, how
they've smartly kind of built these symbiotic relationships with college
sports and reap the benefits of the development system and the resources.
And so I think.
You know, again, five years in and the leadership team, all that is,
you know, how do we continue to leverage that harder for our entire
enterprise across all our tours?
So, yeah, I think there's definitely support and look forward to continuing
to, you know, evolve our brand, evolve our reach, within the college game.
Aaron Goldberg: Great.
No, it's good to hear.
You know, I think of it as from a business perspective and, and no
large corporation is not thinking about either research and development
or what's their next, you know, what does their next five years look like?
How do we develop as a company?
And, this seems like the natural evolution for the PGA tour of.
Their r and d or their investment into their future as opposed
to, Hey, these players are good.
They're gonna figure out a way onto the PGA tour.
And then it's every man for themself, which is kind of true.
But at the same time, thinking as a business going forward and this new
enterprise, you know, how do we elevate that and how does, I shouldn't say
we, how does the PJ Tour elevate that?
You know, giving the best players the.
The opportunity to get out there.
They're not given anything.
They're earning it.
So, it's really neat to see, and they're giving out, they have a lot
of resources behind them as well.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, absolutely.
No, we're looking forward to kind of, again, with the next
5, 10, 15, 20 years holds.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah.
What do you think, you know, as you, this is probably speculation, but let's
even stick with the next five years.
how does that play out?
You know, what would you like to see, what do you think could happen?
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, I think it's really more from a macro perspective,
like how do we continue to advance the life cycle of the property.
the first five years I would categorize as rapid growth just out of the gates
performance benefits us as a brand like the market to understand you.
we got advanced past that early lifecycle into kind of
more mature, you know, growth.
and for us, I think it's continuing to build the property, new auxiliary
properties potentially underneath the PGA Tour U umbrella to grow the brand.
You know, beyond the competitive aspect of PGA Tour U, I think one
specific focus for us, which we have not embarked on, is really kind of
the events side of, college golf.
you know, how do we kind of formalize relationships?
With some of the top existing events in the country that have, you know,
been the fabric of college golf for 25 years and add elevated courses with
brands, you know, how do we provide kind of support resources to those
events to, you know, elevate the preparatory environment even more.
And, you know, the Jackson Koivuns and the other top elite players at
these events, how are we kind of touching, having a better touch point
with those, from an event basis?
and then, you know, second to that, I think within the event space
one day, you know, potentially have our own and operated event.
you know, where we again, kind of control aspects of it and, you know, the media
and you know, the monetization of it.
Just e everything as a whole.
Like that makes a lot of sense for us.
We gotta figure out the timing, to be right and, you
know, you got kind of one up.
One opportunity to get outta the gates with that.
So we want to make sure it's done, the way we want.
But really, I think to answer your question, like the lifecycle is gonna
evolve beyond just the performance benefits, you know, and kind of
transcend more to a business property for us, you know, for the enterprise.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, that sounds great.
I could see, you know, having PGA tour U majors or something like
that, that are involved in college golf, whether it be the existing
events, something you all create.
But having added value there, both from a development standpoint, a business
standpoint, where you are creating a profitable business, entity or adding
to the profitable business entity.
And also maybe it's, you know, it's adding to the points and adding to the, you
know, access to the tour for the players.
Brendan von Doehren: absolutely.
we're kind of excited we're, you know, moving in that direction and kind
of more to come on a lot of that.
But, Yeah, if I thought where we'd be in the first five years,
I didn't think we'd be here.
I didn't know where we'd be.
But, be kind of even more exciting at the 10 year anniversary.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, I'm very interested to see, and I hope we have that
conversation at the 10 year anniversary.
how is the, I know in the beginning, coaches were very accepting a PGA tour
U, but didn't maybe have, you know, same thing as like thrown into the fire.
We're not quite sure exactly what's going on.
How has their, what's their feedback been, I guess, over the last
five years and where it's at now?
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, I think, I think a lot of it is, you know, within the
five years in our program changes, whether it be the benefits or our point system
adjustments, you know, without getting into the weeds, like I think we've done
a good job in a sense of understanding.
Uniqueness of college golf is, there's the individual aspect,
there's the team aspect, right?
That kind of coexist at the same time, whether it be at the NCAA national
championship or regular events.
And so, you know, we've been mindful and cognizant that those dynamics are in play.
We've got, you know, a ranking now that provides access that,
that wasn't there six years ago.
That's kind of determining a lot of decisions for players.
but I think, you know, an interesting aspect we have seen is.
Now we've got the 103 alumni that have represented a lot of these universities.
this is a powerful recruiting tool for coaches, you know, and
sort of how many alumni have you produced and where are they at now?
And I think we want to kind of build on that, but that's taken a life of its own.
When you think of.
A lot of these top schools, you know, and from our earlier, early classes,
the Davis Thompsons, the ROEs, the Kevin Hughes, you know, tho Jacob
Bridgeman, Joe Heisman, like now they're 4, 3, 4, 5 years into their career.
you know, their connection to their universities and kind of how they
speak about PGA tour u it's bringing kind of a life of its own from
both the college, coach perspective as well as current players.
Aaron Goldberg: Great.
Yeah.
I think it's.
What in, in talking to other coaches and hearing their take, you know, it seems
it's an opportunity for them to capitalize on and you accept that and it's, Hey,
we're gonna be one of the best player, one of the best teams in the country.
We wanna get the best players in the country and we want to showcase that
they can get to the next level as well.
You know, young juniors, when they're looking at college colleges to go to, they
wanna see if they can get to the PGA tour and no better way to look at it than this.
So it's really interesting.
it's funny you mentioned that some of those names that, you know, you
think of them as like veteran PGA tour players now and you forget that
they even went through PGA tour you.
and that it's exciting to see like it's been around that long now that
those are players that are out on the PG tour, they're winning and kind of
establish themselves and it's not just that hot young player that just got out.
we're, you know, you're five years in.
It's
Brendan von Doehren: ''Yeah, we're five years for those and I think just,
you know, more recent kind of shahin examples and he is about ready, you
know, to, to change to the PGA tour now.
But Johnny Keffer coming outta Baylor, you know, is our 25th player in 2024.
and, you know, kind of hit, you know, the ground running on Americas, number one out
there now, number one on our points list.
and Michael Brennan is kind of on the same trajectory.
Just got three win.
Promotion and be on Korn Ferry tour next year.
So, you know, regardless, we're seeing sort of where you're at
in the ranking to some aspects.
You know, all these are such proven players that really just kind of
need to get in that good rhythm, have the opportunity, and you know, we're
seeing the success of these guys and see where they're at, you know, and
kind of five years down the line.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, it's funny you bring up Johnny Keefer.
I remember sitting there at the last day of stroke play, at LaCosta.
I just happened to live right by it and, Was sitting there and saw Johnny and,
you know, he was sweating it out on, Hey, am I gonna finish 25th, 24th, 26th, have
zero status, have status And, you know, he played well and earned that 25th spot and
then took full advantage of it, obviously, and really has not looked back since.
So, it's great to see and that it's a testament to what the platform that they
have, as they get in, as a pro golfer.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, absolutely.
No, it, those two kind of names, you know, most recently and, excited to
see how Johnny does on the PGA tour.
Aaron Goldberg: Yeah, I think, I think his game's gonna translate.
Brendan von Doehren: I do too.
Aaron Goldberg: it'll be fun to see.
one, one question that I wanted to circle back to, that I think
I, I don't have clarity on.
You mentioned the two through 10 get the Korn Ferry tour
status for this year, and then.
Is it next year as well or is there, you said there's like
a points race in between 'em.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, so, we'll get into the weeds a little bit.
So basically, players from each class, so two to 25, are in a mini
play category, a PG tour, U category, where we take the combined points
of PGA tour, FedEx cut points.
As well as Korn Ferry tour points, equally weighted one to one.
we total those at the end after RSM Classic and the top five players
in that total PGA tour U Points category earn membership onto the
Korn Ferry tour the following year.
So that's sort of that little mini where, you know, we capture and again, sort
of re-identify the best of that group versus two to 10, you know, or two to
seven automatically the following year.
Allows for an opportunity if a player from PGA tour Americas Monday qualifies
into a PGA tour event or a Korn Ferry tour event and, you know, gets on a roll
and top 20 fives or top tens, right?
and accumulates points like we sort of want to capture that player and
rightfully so, he is, you know, played maybe better than the rest.
And so, that's sort of a PGA two U total points category that you can
find online that we keep updated every week with, the combined points.
Aaron Goldberg: Great.
Okay.
Speaking of online, you know, if people have more questions, I'll put the link
in the show notes, to the website.
Is that the best place for them to go?
is the website and it seems like there's a lot of information there these days.
Brendan von Doehren: Yeah, we've got all information.
We've got kind of storylines, we've got our, you know, rules and regs.
If you're your players, we've got our ranking updates, every Wednesday that
come out kind of around noon Eastern time, through the cadence of the
fall and the Spring College season.
So check those out, both on social and then you'll see the
long form ranking, on our.com
page.
Aaron Goldberg: Great.
All right.
Well, Brendan, this has been great.
Really appreciate you coming on and.
Sharing the updates and kind of the backstory of PJ Tour
University and where we're at now.
I think this has been a great conversation for myself, but for everybody else
that's gonna be listening, so looking forward to seeing you out there.
Looking forward to having a, this next conversation, maybe,
at the 10 year anniversary.
but appreciate your time and, everything you do for college, golf and the
aspiring, pros on the pathway up.
Brendan von Doehren: Awesome.
Thank you so much for having me.
I really appreciate it.
And let's do this, 10 years.
Aaron Goldberg: Sounds good.
All right, thanks everyone.