The Korn Ferry Tour Championship wrapped up on Sunday, and while 20 guys were popping champagne and hugging their caddies, three familiar faces walked off the 18th green with that gut-wrenching feeling—so close, yet so far. We’re talking about Justin Suh, Russell Knox, and Dylan Wu—veterans of the big leagues—guys who know what it takes to make it on the PGA Tour, and just missed punching their ticket back to golf’s grandest stage.
Justin Suh’s Fight Comes Up Inches Short
Qualifying for the PGA Tour used to be a challenging task, but following recent changes to the qualification structure, it has become a high-wire act. Only the top 20 finishers at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship earn Tour cards now, meaning everyone else goes back to the grind. And for Suh, Knox, and Wu, that grind has been their entire 2025 season—chasing points, chasing cuts, and chasing the dream.
Justin Suh, the 28-year-old out of San Jose, who once looked like the next sure thing in American golf. He’s played 90 PGA Tour events. He’s no rookie. He knows the grind. But 2024 was not his year—12 made cuts out of 29 starts and a goose egg in the top 10 department. So, back to the Korn Ferry Tour he went, where he picked up a win in Argentina and added two top-10s. The guy was fighting. Entering the final week, he was 24th in the standings—right there. But a T31 finish dropped him just outside the magic number. Oof.
Knox’s Season of Grit Ends in Frustration
And then there’s Russell Knox. The Scotsman. Two-time PGA Tour winner. He’s been around long enough to remember what winning at a WGC feels like, and he grinded all year long with 21 KFT starts in 2025, including a close call in the Bahamas. That runner-up finish and three other top 10s had him knocking on the door. But the man couldn’t summon his best stuff at the Championship, finishing T55 and sliding from 34th to 36th. So close. Sixteen spots away. That’s gotta sting. After everything he’s poured into this comeback, Knox will have to wait at least one more year for another shot at redemption.
Dylan Wu’s Late PGA Push Falls Short
And Dylan Wu—Oregon’s own. He had full status as recently as 2023, but his game slipped in 2024. He held onto hope in 2025, balancing limited Tour starts with Korn Ferry events, but with only eight appearances on the developmental tour, the math just didn’t work. His T31 on Sunday nudged him up two spots to 69th. Still 49 places short of getting his card back. A solid performance, but not the surge he needed.
Here’s the thing: these guys aren’t done. Not by a long shot. They all secured full Korn Ferry status for 2026, and they’ll be back with chips on their shoulders and fire in their bellies. But this week? It’s heartbreak. The kind that only this sport can dish out. The margins are razor-thin, the competition brutal, and the road back to the PGA Tour? It just got a little bit longer.
