There are 20 golfers within three strokes of the lead that all want to book their ticket for the big leagues next season.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – It’s down to 18 holes on Sunday – unless there’s a playoff – to earn one of five PGA Tour cards available at PGA Tour Q-School this week.
Through 54 holes played at Sawgrass Country Club and Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass, Ben Kohles and Marcelo Rozo are setting the pace at 11-under 199. But there are 20 golfers within three strokes of the lead that all want to book their ticket for the big leagues next season.
While there wouldn't have been a playoff had Q-School been only a 54-hole affair, it feels ripe for one on Sunday. In a change of policy, there will only be five cards handed out so if there is a tie for fifth there will be a playoff and plenty of #SundayDrama. Let’s take a look at those players in contention.
Ben Kohles
The 35-year-old Kohles is looking to get back to the PGA Tour after finishing No. 142 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings. A resident of Ponte Vedra Beach since 2019, he had a bogey-free 65 at Sawgrass.
”I think I really need to have the mindset of going out and trying to shoot the low round of the day,” said Kohles. “Try to finish in the top five? That’s easy to get a little careless. I have great experience on the Valley Course, living here for the past six years and I’m pretty comfortable out there.”
Marcelo Rozo
The Colombian native closed in style with three late birdies, including a 45-footer on 16, and also signed for a 65 to join Kohles in a tie for first at 11-under-par 199.
The 36-year-old Rozo has made 255 career Tour-sanctioned starts but has never held a PGA Tour card.
Cooper Dossey
The 27-year-old former Baylor Bears star welcomed the birth of his first child, a son, just before Thanksgiving and has been sleeping well this week. He shot 6-under 64 on Saturday and sits one shot off the lead at T-3.
“It’s been a whirlwind, I might cry,” Dossey said of becoming a dad to newborn Tucker. “It’s been the greatest thing I’ve ever experienced honestly. It’s made this golf feel really easy. Whether I shot 80 or 64 today, it’s been the greatest blessing in our lives.”
Dossey entered the week knowing he had KFT status wrapped up by virtue of his performance this season but now the PGA Tour is within reach.
"It’s not a free roll anymore,” Dossey said. “I’m in a position where I can earn a Tour card. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time. Gets me emotional just thinking about it.”
A.J. Ewart
One day after making a hole-in-one on the fifth hole at Dye’s Valley, Ewart, 26, climbed up the leaderboard in more conventional fashion with birdies at two of the last three holes to shoot 67 and enter the final round T-3. This is his first time the Canadian, who played on PGA Tour Americas this season, has reached Final Stage and so far his philosophy is working.
“I try to dumb it down. It’s just another tournament, right?” Ewart said of Q-School. “You don’t go to a tournament to finish in the top 50. Just do my preparation and treat it like any other week as hard as that may be.”
John Pak
Pak’s rookie season on the PGA Tour didn’t go as planned as he finished 152nd in the FedEx Cup. The 26-year-old Florida State star won all three college golf player of the year awards before turning pro in 2021. He shot 64 on Friday at TPC Sawgrass to jump into contention and scattered five birdies in shooting 67 on Saturday.
Spencer Levin
Levin, the 2004 low amateur at the U.S. Open, has made 244 career PGA Tour starts but hasn’t been exempt on the PGA Tour since 2017. The 41-year-old shot 63 at Sawgrass CC on Saturday to improve to T-6.
“I’ve been doing this a long time,” he said. “I’ve kind of seen every scenario there is. The thing you learn is that there are no secrets. You’ve just got to go out tomorrow you got to execute and play well. And that’s it.”
Matt Atkins
The 35-year-old pro didn't make a birdie at Q-School until his 18th Thursday, shooting 72 in the first round. But he's rallied with rounds of 64-65 to climb to 9-under 201 and T-6 entering the final round. He’s made 28 career starts on the PGA Tour since turning pro in 2013.
Alejandro Tosti
The 29-year-old Argentine birdied five of his first seven holes on Moving Day to surge up the leaderboard. He’s one off the pace for a Tour card at 9-under 201 and T-6. The former Florida Gator regained his Tour card at Q-School last year but missed his last six cuts of the regular season and didn’t play in the fall, dropping to No. 137 in the season-long standings.
Davis Shore
The 27-year-old former Alabama grad was bogey-free on Saturday until dropping a shot at the last. He posted 67 at Sawgrass CC and sits at 9-under 201 and T-6.
Ian Holt
The 30-year-old from Kent State has shot three straight 67s to reach 9-under 201 and T-6. He finished T-2 at the Argentina Open but only recorded one more top-10 on KFT this season.
Kota Kaneko
Just 23 years of age, Kaneko won twice in Japan this season and topped the Japan Golf Tour’s money list. He’s only made one Tour-sanctioned start in his career but shot 68 on Saturday and is part of the logjam of players at 9-under 201 and T-6. One of five 36-hole co-leaders, he was even through 15 holes in the third round but closed with birdies on two of the final three holes.
Frankie Capan III
A 26-year-old rookie this season on the PGA Tour, Capan is T-12 and 8-under after a 5-under 65 at Sawgrass CC. He finished No. 127 in the FedEx Cup Fall and needs to finish top five to improve his status for next season.
Ben Silverman
The 38-year-old Canadian recorded just one top-10 finish this season and slipped to No. 140 in the FedEx Cup Fall. He shot a bogey-free 65 on Saturday at Sawgrass to give himself an outside chance to retain full-exempt status for next year.
Christian Salzer
The 27-year-old North Carolina native birdied three holes in a four-hole stretch starting at No. 3 en route to shooting 66 at Sawgrass CC on Saturday. He sits at 8-under 202 and T-12.
Adam Svensson
The 31-year-old Canadian made three bogeys in a row on the back but also made six birdies to shoot 68 at Sawgrass CC. A past champion of the Tour’s RSM Classic, he struggled this season, finishing No. 167 in the season-long standings and without a top-10 finish.
Trevor Cone
Cone, 33, failed to make the top 100 after finishing 161st on the FedEx Cup season-long points standings. Regardless of his result, he will have KFT status next season, which he said has freed him up this week. One of the 36-co-leaders, he followed up a Friday 65 at Sawgrass with 68 there on Saturday.
Mitchell Meissner
The 29-year-old older brother of Mac Meisner, who played on the PGA Tour this season, shot 68 on Saturday to get to 7-under 203 and T-17. He finished 21st in the KFT points standings and was the odd man out for a promotion to the big leagues.
Dylan Wu
The 29-year-old from Northwestern University shot 68 on Saturday and is 7-under, T-17. He finished 168th in the season-long standings and counts four missed cuts and a DQ in his last six starts on Tour.
Chan Kim
The 35-year-old who grew up in Hawaii held the first round lead after shooting 64 on Thursday at Dye's Valley. He shot 69 at Sawgrass CC on Saturday and joined the group at 7-under 203 and T-17. His newborn daughter went home from the hospital on Wednesday and he said he's been freed up this week on the course. Kim has an excellent track record at Q-Schools around the globe. He keeps it simple: “It's easier said than done, but at the end of the day, it's just another tournament that you're trying to win,” he explained. “You're not really focusing on trying to just finish top-5, you're out here to try and win. So that's always been my mentality at Q-School.”
Chad Sewell
The 26-year-old from Conroe, Texas, posted 1-under 69 on Saturday. He sits at 7-under 203
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: These 20 pros are battling for 5 2026 PGA Tour cards at Q-School
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