CARLSBAD, Calif. – Vanderbilt men’s golf senior Jackson Van Paris earned pro status through PGA TOUR University at the end of stroke play at the 2025 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, as he finished No. 5 in the PGA TOUR U. rankings to gain his Korn Ferry Tour card.
Van Paris earns a full exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of the 2025 season. The Pinehurst, North Carolina, native also earns an exemption into the Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. He will join former Dores John Augenstein and Cole Sherwood on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The senior led the Commodores in a scoring average this season at 70.03 through 37 rounds of play during his final year with Vanderbilt and shot under par in 22 rounds. Van Paris was the individual medalist at the 2025 NCAA Amherst Regional and posted six top-10 finishes. The All-American was selected NCAA Division I PING All-Southeast Region team and was named to the All-SEC second team.
The Pinehurst, North Carolina, native was a 2024 NCAA Division I PING All-American honorable mention selection and was twice named to the NCAA Division I PING All-Southeast team. He was a two-time All-SEC selection and was a spring finalist for the 2025 Fred Haskins Award and the Byron Nelson Award. He won two tournaments during his four years at Vanderbilt. He won the inaugural St Andrews Links Collegiate at the Home of Golf in October of 2023, and more recently, he captured first at the 2025 NCAA Amherst Regional to become the second Commodore to earn medalist honors at an NCAA Regional. His career scoring average of 70.65 is the second-lowest in program history.
He made his pro debut at the 2024 Puerto Rico Open and finished in a tie for 10th at 15-under 273. Van Paris posted the lowest 18-hole score in the tournament, going 8-under 64 in Round 4.
Van Paris will join fellow senior Gordon Sargent in beginning a pro career over the next week. Sargent, who earned his PGA TOUR card through PGA TOUR University Accelerated in October of 2023, is scheduled to start his pro career on June 5-8 at the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ontario, Canada. Sargent will join former Commodores Brandt Snedeker, Luke List, Will Gordon and Matthew Riedel on the PGA TOUR.
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