5H AGO
*:not(style)~*:not(style){margin-top:0.5rem;-webkit-margin-end:0px;margin-inline-end:0px;margin-bottom:0px;-webkit-margin-start:0px;margin-inline-start:0px;}]]>
Change Text Size
Written by Jimmy Reinman
FRENCH LICK, Ind. — The goal is simple, but the stakes couldn’t be higher.
The top 20 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List after this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance will earn 2026 PGA TOUR cards, while everyone else heads back to golf’s most grueling grind.
For Marty Dou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju and the rest of the bubble hopefuls, four days on the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Golf Resort could be all the difference.
With 11 of the 20 cards already locked up, let’s take a rundown of six of the “bubble boys” who need one final performance this week to compete on the game’s biggest stage.
Zecheng “Marty” Dou enters the Korn Ferry Tour Championship clinging to the second-to-last projected PGA TOUR promotion spot, aiming for a return to golf’s top stage.
Dou, who represented China at the 2024 Paris Olympics alongside countryman Carl Yuan, has made 69 career PGA TOUR starts but recorded just one top-five finish. A prodigy from a young age, Dou stormed through the PGA TOUR China Series in 2016 with four victories and the Order of Merit title while still a teenager. The following year, he became the first mainland Chinese player to win on the Korn Ferry Tour, earning his PGA TOUR card for 2018.
Zecheng Dou makes eagle putt on No. 16 at Compliance Solutions
His rookie season proved challenging, sending him back to golf’s proving ground where he would stay until again earning promotion in 2022. But the 27-year-old has shown renewed form this year, highlighted by a runner-up finish at last week’s Compliance Solutions Championship, his best performance of the season. That result vaulted him inside the top 20 in points heading into French Lick.
Now Dou faces a familiar task, holding steady under pressure. A strong showing on the demanding Pete Dye layout could lock up his third return to the PGA TOUR and mark a major comeback for one of China’s trailblazing talents.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju – No. 20
Canada’s Yellamaraju holds the No. 20 spot on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, looking to secure his first PGA TOUR card after a rapid rise through golf’s developmental ranks.
Yellamaraju made headlines early in 2025 with a win at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, the season’s second event. It was a breakthrough moment for the 24-year-old, who struggled as a rookie in 2024, managing just two top-25 finishes in 25 starts and finishing No. 99 on the standings. That effort, however, preserved conditional status and opened the door to another chance.
He parlayed that opportunity into a gritty run through all three stages of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, finishing T-36 at Final Stage to guarantee eight starts this season. He hasn’t looked back since.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju captures his first win at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic
Born in India and raised in Canada, Yellamaraju began hitting balls in a Winnipeg golf dome at age 6 before turning professional at 19.
“I didn’t go to college because I couldn’t afford to,” he said after his Bahamas victory.
Now, his unconventional journey could reach golf’s highest level if he can steady his nerves for one more week.
Mitchell Meissner – No. 21
Mitchell Meissner will be the first man out when he steps on the tee Thursday, entering the Korn Ferry Tour Championship at No. 21, one spot outside the promotion bubble.
The Rice University product finished T-33 at last year’s season finale at French Lick, then underwent a second surgery on his right wrist just days later. His resilience since has been tested, but he’s now within striking distance of joining his younger brother, PGA TOUR member Mac Meissner, on the big stage.
Mitchell Meissner chips in for Eagle at Compliance Solutions
Meissner’s story nearly ended in college, where he battled the putting yips and was lining up a consulting job before giving golf one last shot. In a desperate move, he switched to putting left-handed. The experiment worked, reviving his confidence and saving his career.
Results this season have been uneven. He has not finished better than T22 since midsummer, seeing three missed cuts in his last six starts, but the door remains open. A top finish this week at French Lick could rewrite the Meissner brothers’ family narrative.
Julian Suri has made a career out of comebacks, and this week offers another chance at revival for the journeyman. The 34-year-old New York native sits just two spots outside the top-20 cutoff as he chases his first PGA TOUR card.
Suri surged into contention with a win at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and InterMountain Health, firing a closing 63 to rocket from No. 56 to No. 16 in the standings. It marked his first Korn Ferry Tour victory in 39 starts and just his second Official World Golf Ranking-sanctioned title, joining his 2017 win at the Danish Golf Championship on the DP World Tour.
Julian Suri discusses mentality being No. 22 on Korn Ferry Points List
A former Duke standout and Jacksonville, Florida, native, Suri’s journey has spanned continents and tours. He even served as the official golf ambassador for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018.
Perhaps Suri can channel his hometown team’s winning performance over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday into a top-12 finish. That would likely be enough to land the seasoned pro on the PGA TOUR.
Jeremy Gandon’s rookie season on the Korn Ferry Tour has been a revelation. The Frenchman captured the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club for his first Tour title and stands on the brink of promotion entering the finale at No. 23 in points.
Gandon followed in the footsteps of countryman Paul Barjon as only the second French player to win on the Korn Ferry Tour. His steady play all season featured seven top-25 finishes, though he’ll likely need a top-five result at French Lick to break through the top-20 barrier.
Jeremy Gandon birdies playoff hole to seal win at Club Car Championship
The 28-year-old cut his teeth at Kansas State, where he was the 2018 Big 12 individual co-champion and one of the conference’s most consistent performers.
A big finish on the Pete Dye Course could stamp Gandon’s ticket to the PGA TOUR and mark another milestone in France’s growing presence on golf’s global stage.
Justin Suh knows exactly what it takes to win this event. The former world amateur No. 1 and 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year enters this week at No. 24, needing one more special performance to return to the PGA TOUR.
Suh regained his winning touch earlier this year with a victory at the 118 Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro, his second Korn Ferry Tour title. It was a timely rebound after losing his PGA TOUR card in 2024, when he made just 12 cuts in 29 starts and finished No. 165 in the FedExCup Fall standings.
Justin Suh makes eagle putt on No. 16 at Compliance Solutions
Two years ago, Suh dominated this same event, albeit on a different course, to clinch the top spot on the season-long standings and earn his first TOUR promotion.
Now 27, the USC product has endured injuries, pandemic setbacks and the grind of Monday qualifiers since turning pro in 2019. But a major hurdle remains: He will likely need a T3 or better this week to complete his road back to the PGA TOUR.
