How Professional Golf Works
My goal is to become a professional golfer on the PGA Tour. For me, the path to get to this point includes ascending through professional golf tours. This path may seem confusing, so allow me to explain:
In professional baseball, players seeking to reach the major league must first ascend through the MLB's minor league, or "farm system," consisting of three levels of play--Single A, Double A, and Triple A. As players continue to progress and ascend through each level, they can expect the level of competition to increase as well as their pay. The further they ascend, the more difficult it becomes to ascend further.
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Professional golf works in a similar way. In order for an aspiring pro to reach the PGA Tour, they must ascend through "Single A," "Double A," and/or "Triple A" tours. Almost any professional golfer can sign up to play in a "Single A" tournament; however, in order to play on higher level tours, golfers are required to have status on that tour. To acquire status, golfers must play in what is known as Qualifying School. The way Qualifying School works for each tour is broken down below:
PGA Tour Canada & PGA Tour Latinamerica (Double A)
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Six sites each consisting of 132 players
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Each site: Four-round, 72 hole tournament
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Top 30 individuals at each site earn status on tour
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More information found here
Korn Ferry Tour (Triple A)
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Four stages: Pre-qualifying, first stage, second stage, final stage
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Pre-Qualifying​​
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Eight sites each consisting of ~78 players​
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Each site: Three-round, 54-hole tournament
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Approx. top-20 individuals at each site advance to stage one​
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Stage One
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12 sites each consisting of ~78 players​
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Each site: Four-round, 72-hole tournament
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Approx. top-30 individuals at each site advance to stage two
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Stage Two
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Five sites each consisting of ~75 players​
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Each site: Four-round, 72-hole tournament
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Approx. top-28 individuals at each site advance to final stage
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Final Stage
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One site consisting of ~150 players​
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Four-round, 72-hole tournament
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Approx. top-45 individuals earn Korn Ferry Tour card
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