Johnny Kiefer’s chances of qualifying for his first Masters next April have increased significantly.
Kiefer, this year’s Korn Ferry Tour points earner, broke into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time in his career last week, but his three-place slide this week showed he needs at least one world-ranked start to earn a top-50 exemption at the end of the year and play at Augusta National. Competing in next week’s Worldwide Technology Championship, Kiefer will compete as a sponsor exemption.
The Masters eliminated the exemption for PGA Tour fall winners, but if Kiefer wins in Mexico he will be safely within the world’s top 50.
Kiefer also has a chance to earn sponsorship exemptions for the final two PGA Tour events of the fall, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship and the RSM Classic, and could qualify for both on Monday if he doesn’t earn an invitation. He could find a spot internationally, or he could win on the PGA Tour next year or have a chance to finish in the top 50 for the second time a week before the Masters.
“What I’ve been able to accomplish so far is really amazing, just to be in this position where I can think about next year’s Masters before I play a PGA Tour event as a full-time member,” Kiefer said a few weeks ago on Golf Channel’s College Golf Talk podcast. “I don’t like to think too much about numbers. If I can get to one or two events this fall, I’ll be really excited and ready to compete. But I think it’s the same thing as thinking about the cut line and not thinking about winning. … I’m not just aiming to get to the Masters. Even if I don’t make it this year, I’ll have a lot of chances next year.”
The WWT Championship will be held at the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal Course in Diamante, Los Cabos, Mexico.
Two recent major winners, JJ Spahn and Windham Clark, are in attendance, as is last week’s winner, Michael Brennan, who was planning to head to KFT next year before making the most of a sponsor invite and attending the Bank of Utah Championship.
The remaining three unrestricted sponsor exemptions are Will Gordon, Peter Cunedo and current Florida State junior Tyler Weaver, who won last spring at Cabo College.
David Lipsky, who currently ranks 100th in FedEx Cup points, is participating, but Billy Horschel, who ranks 101st, is not. However, Mr. Horschel is in no danger of losing his eligibility for full forgiveness. However, this is not the case for Sami Valimaki at No. 102, Isaiah Salinda at No. 103, and Patrick Fishburne at No. 104, who play Cabo.
Here is the complete list of fields:
The World Wide Technology Championship became the first official PGA Tour event of the modern era, first held in Mexico in 2007, and stands as the first official Tour event held outside of the United States or Canada.
This year marks the 19th time for this event… pic.twitter.com/Hdsq2ouO6q
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) October 31, 2025
