CLEMSON, S.C. — Former Clemson All-Americans Ben Martin and Carson Young both earned PGA Tour cards for the 2022-23 season on Sunday with top 25 finishes at the Korn Ferry Tour Playoff. It will be Martin’s 10th year on the PGA Tour, but the first for Young.
Young, a native Pendleton, S.C., is the 17th different former Tiger golfer to earn full status on the PGA Tour.
Martin and Young will be two of four former Tigers who will have full status on the PGA Tour next year, as they will be joined by Lucas Glover and Doc Redman. Jonathan Byrd, Kyle Stanley and D.J. Trahan, all former winners on the PGA Tour, will have varying limited status.
Martin played on the PGA Tour this past year and finished 151st on the FedX Cup points list. The native of Greenwood, S.C. needed to finish in the top 25 during these Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs to improved to full status. An All-American at Clemson in 2010 as a senior, Martin is a veteran of 204 PGA tournaments and has 16 top 10s, including a victory.
Martin finished 12th in the Korn Ferry Tour Playoffs with 254.5 points. He had a round of 63 or better in all three playoff tournaments, the only player to do that. He finished with a three-under-par 69 Sunday to give him a 14-under-par score for the 72 holes of this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana.
Young, who played for the Tigers from 2014-17, played on the Korn Ferry Tour this past year and recorded a victory at the Panama Championship early in the season. Young finished 16th in the Korn Ferry Tour Playoff after shooting 15-under-par for the 72 holes this week. He had a final round 70.
Young earned honorable mention All-America honors for the Tigers in 2017. As a freshman he was Clemson’s top performer at the NCAA Regional at Rich Harvest Farms. He will always be remembered for his final round 68 at the 2016 ACC Tournament at The Old North State Club, a round that was a big reason Clemson won the ACC Championship.
Glover will be in his 19th season on the PGA Tour in 2022-23. He finished 39th in the FedX Cup rankings this year. He has four PGA Tour wins, including the 2009 US Open, the only former Clemson golfer to win a professional Major Championship. He has played 487 PGA events in his career, more than any other former Tiger, and has 56 top 10 finishes, also a record.
Redman finished 123rd on the FedX Cup rankings this year. He is a veteran of 91 tournaments in his three years on tour and has seven top 10 finishes. Redman won the US Amateur in 2017 and was a two-time All-American at Clemson.
Byrd will be in his 22nd year on the PGA Tour, more than any former Tiger in history and has five PGA Tour wins, also a record for a Clemson golfer. Byrd has 46 career top 10s. He finished 148th on the FedX Cup points list this year.
Stanley missed half of this year with an injury. He will be inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in October. This will be his 13th year on the PGA Tour. He has 24 career top 10 finishes, including two victories.
Trahan, the national player of the year at Clemson in 2002, is a 14-year veteran on the PGA Tour and has 31 career top 10s, including two victories.