Zalatoris getting a PGA Tour card a question of when and how

Will Zalatoris will have a PGA Tour card, the goal he set for himself at the start of the year. Still to be determined is when that happens. Equally fascinating is how.

Zalatoris had a pair of top-10 finishes to start the Korn Ferry Tour season when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months. Because of the shortened season, the PGA Tour decided to extend the Korn Ferry season into 2021, meaning no one would get a PGA card until next fall.

Zalatoris kept sharp while playing at home in Texas during the pandemic and has been at his best since golf’s return. His victory in Colorado was among 11 consecutive finishes in the top 20, eight of those in the top 10. He leads the Korn Ferry with 1,876 points. He is a lock to get his card — next year.

Now there are other opportunities.

Zalatoris tied for sixth in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. On a sponsor exemption last week in the Dominican Republic, he closed with a 65 to tie for eighth, which got him a spot this week in the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi. And he is entered in this week’s Shriners Hospital for Children Open for the first time.

Entering Sunday’s play, he had 185 FedEx Cup points, leaving him 103 points away — the equivalent of a two-way tie for fifth — from special temporary membership on the PGA Tour. That would allow Zalatoris unlimited sponsor exemptions.

He already has an exemption for the Shriners Open, which would be nine tournaments over the last 10 weeks, including a draining week at Winged Foot.

“At this stage of where I’m at, I can’t take a week off,” Zalatoris said. “Hopefully, we’ll keep on running.”

If he gets it done, Zalatoris likely can play a PGA Tour schedule next year without being a full PGA Tour member, unless he were to win.

The advantage of being in the big leagues is obvious, and the point was brought home at Winged Foot. For all his success on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, Zalatoris has earned $403,978. He made more than that — $424,040 — for his two-way tie for sixth in the U.S. Open.

Also in Mississippi is Davis Riley, playing in his home state. Riley might be even closer to PGA Tour membership than Zalatoris. He has two wins this season on the Korn Ferry Tour. And because the “season” now covers two years, another win gives Riley an instant promotion to the PGA Tour.

Jared Wolfe, who won the Wichita Open last week, also has two Korn Ferry Tour wins. He is playing the Savannah Golf Championship this week. The final Korn Ferry Tour event for 2020 is next week in Orlando, Florida.