The Korn Ferry Tour Championship was a pressure cooker for those seeking to finish in the top 20 in the season-long points race. Those 20 earned 2027 PGA Tour cards.
But there was also a tournament to win, and Austin Hitt passed both tests with flying colors.
Hitt started the week 22nd in the pstandings, so he need to climb at least two spots with his performance at The Federal Club in Glen Allen, Virginia. Turns out he did much better than that.
Hitt went out and shot a final-round 5-under 66 to win by two shots, earning his first Korn Ferry Tour win in his 78th start, and, by vaulting to sixth in the points, he easily secured a promotion for next year.
After bogeying the first
hole, Hitt went to work, getting that stroke back with a birdie at the second. He then went birdie-birdie-eagle on Nos. 8, 9 and 10. Another birdie at 14 got him to 5 under and gave him a three-shot lead.
Hitt's win was good for $270,000 out of the KFT Championship's $1.5 million purse and that pushed him past the $1 million mark in career earnings.
Meanwhile, Blades Brown finished solo second after a final-round 2-under 69. Already inside the top 20 at the start of the week, Brown moved up to ninth in the points race and with that, he is now the youngest golfer to earn PGA Tour status via the Korn Ferry Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Austin Hitt wins Korn Ferry Tour Championship, earns 2027 PGA Tour card
