Preston Summerhays Debuts at No. 1 in PGA TOUR University Preseason Ranking for Class of 2025

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – PGA TOUR University has announced the preseason ranking for the Class of 2025, and Arizona State's Preston Summerhays is No. 1 on the first list of rising seniors eligible for PGA TOUR University in 2024-25. UCLA's Omar Morales is No. 2 in the preseason ranking, while Brendan Valdes checks in at No. 3 after helping Auburn win its first national championship in 2024. Calum Scott (Texas Tech) and Jackson Van Paris (Vanderbilt) round out the top five players in the PGA TOUR University Preseason Ranking.

Summerhays, who is a four-time collegiate winner at Arizona State, has made 11 career starts in PGA TOUR sanctioned events and will make his 12th later this week at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health on the Korn Ferry Tour. The two-time PING GCAA All-American started the 2023-24 season with a win in the 72-player field at the Sahalee Players Championship in September before becomming the first Sun Devil since Jon Rahm to win the Thunderbird Collegiate for a second consecutive season in April. A member of the victorious Walker Cup team in 2023 at St. Andrews, Summerhays has played 112 rounds as a Sun Devil and has a career stroke average of 71.85.

The preseason ranking includes players from 21 schools; the four schools with two players are Arizona State, UCLA, North Carolina and Oklahoma. In all, the top 25 features players from eight countries: Cayman Islands, Germany, Mexico, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and United States.

The PGA TOUR University Ranking does not include Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent, currently the No. 1- ranked amateur in the world, because he already secured his PGA TOUR card via PGA TOUR Accelerated. Upon the conclusion of his senior season in May 2025, Sargent will have PGA TOUR membership for the remainder of the 2025 season and through 2026 – the same performance benefits as the player who finishes No. 1 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2025.

In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), PGA TOUR University ranks players based on the last two years of their collegiate careers. Eligible Tournaments include NCAA Division-I men's team competitions, official PGA TOUR tournaments and select DP World Tour events. The Ranking Period for the Class of 2025 began Week 23/2023 and concludes May 26, 2025, following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA D-I Men's National Championship.

The No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking next May will earn PGA TOUR membership, while players Nos. 2-5 (fully exempt) and Nos. 6-10 (conditional) will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2025. Additionally, players Nos. 6-25 will earn fully exempt membership for the North America Swing of PGA TOUR Americas in 2025.

Eligible players in the Class of 2025 must register to be included in the PGA TOUR University Ranking. Player registration is open, and the complete Class of 2025 Ranking will be released in September, prior to the start of the fall college golf season.
 

1. Preston Summerhays (Arizona State)

   The golf pedigree in Preston's family includes former touring pros Boyd (father), Daniel (uncle) and Bruce (great uncle), as well as younger sister Grace, a rising junior on Arizona State's women's golf team. Summerhays started his Fall 2023 season with a win at the Sahalee Players Championship, which gave him an exemption into the PGA TOUR's Napa Valley Golf Championship the following week, where he made the cut and finished T56. In the spring, he successfully defended his title at The Thunderbird Collegiate and went on to earn PING All- America third-team honors. This summer, Summerhays finished T2 at the European Amateur in Denmark, and the following week he helped the United States win the Palmer Cup in Ireland.

2. Omar Morales (UCLA)

   Morales posted seven top-10s for the Bruins in 2023-24, including his second collegiate victory at the 2023 Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate. A native of Puebla, Mexico, Morales has qualified for the last two U.S. Opens, and he was runner-up at the 2024 Latin America Amateur Championship. Currently ranked No. 14 in WAGR, Morales is the second highest-ranked Latin player behind University of Houston grad Santiago De La Fuente del Valle.

3. Brendan Valdes (Auburn)

   Valdes started his 2023-24 season with six consecutive top-10s and finished with nine total, including a win at the Mossy Oak Collegiate and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. At the NCAA Championship, he posted match play victories in the semifinals and finals to help the Tigers win their first NCAA Championship in program history. Valdes has qualified for the last two U.S. Opens, and he represented the United States at the 2024 Palmer Cup.

4. Calum Scott (Texas Tech)

   This summer, Scott topped The Open Amateur Series based on his finishes in the St. Andrews Links Trophy (T2), The Amateur Championship (T5) and the European Amateur (4th), and that earned him a spot in The Open Championship. At Royal Troon, Scott was one of four amateurs to make the cut and he earned the Silver Medal as the low amateur (T43). His junior season in Lubbock, Texas, included four top-10s, and his score counted in all 40 rounds for the Red Raiders in 2023-24.

5. Jackson Van Paris (Vanderbilt)

   A steady junior season featured six top-20 finishes, including a runner-up at the Mason Rudolph Championship, as Van Paris was named a PING Honorable Mention All-American. He made his first PGA TOUR start in March at the Puerto Rico Open, and he closed with an 8-under 64 to finish T10. On the amateur circuit, Van Paris was runner-up at the 2024 North & South Amateur and he won the 2023 Sunnehanna Amateur.

PGA TOUR University Preseason Ranking Class of 2025

Since the first class graduated in June 2021, 16 PGA TOUR University alumni have combined for 24 professional victories. After finishing No. 1 in the Class of 2023, Texas Tech's Ludvig Åberg became the first PGA TOUR University graduate to earn immediate membership on the PGA TOUR, and in his first year as a professional, he posted two wins worldwide and represented Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup. Stanford's Michael Thorbjornsen earned his PGA TOUR card by finishing No. 1 in the Class of 2024, and in his third pro start, he finished T2 at the John Deere Classic.

About PGA TOUR University

Introduced in 2020, PGA TOUR University identifies the best players in collegiate golf and provides membership opportunities on PGA TOUR-affiliated tours. PGA TOUR University alumni have won 24 professional events, and 12 alumni earned their PGA TOUR cards for the 2024 season.

In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®), the PGA TOUR University Ranking ranks collegiate players based on their average performance in NCAA Division-I men's team competitions, official PGA TOUR tournaments, and select DP World Tour events over the last two years of their collegiate careers. 

Upon the conclusion of the collegiate golf season, the No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking earns PGA TOUR membership. Players Nos. 2-5 (fully exempt) and Nos. 6-10 (conditional) earn Korn Ferry Tour membership, and players finishing 6th through 25th earn exempt membership on PGA TOUR Americas. Additionally, a junior or senior who wins the Division-II Jack Nicklaus Award (National Player of the Year) will earn exempt membership on PGA TOUR Americas upon the conclusion of his collegiate career.

For more information, visit pgatour.com/university and follow PGA TOUR University on X and Instagram (@PGATOURU).