Anderson Headed Back to PGA TOUR

NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — Former Gamecock men’s golf All-American Mark Anderson is headed back to the PGA TOUR after finishing 14^th on the Korn Ferry Tour’s (formerly the Web.com Tour) regular season points list.
 
The top-25 players on the list at the conclusion of the WinCo Foods Portland Open on Sunday night all earned their full cards for the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season. Anderson was comfortably inside The 25 after winning the Country Club de Bogotá Championship back on Feb. 3 in Columbia. He had three more top-20s in his 13 starts during the 2019 Korn Ferry season, highlighted by a solo second at the Knoxville Open (May 19).
 
“It’s exciting, really. It’s nice to get back there after a few years on the Korn Ferry Tour,” said Anderson. “It’s been a fun year. It was great getting off to a great start and just really relaxing the rest of the year. I haven’t played a whole lot this summer. I decided to rest up and get ready for the TOUR. But it’s exciting and I can’t wait to get going. I dealt with the broken ankle in February and was out for a few months. But I came back and played well enough after to lock it up mid-season. That made the rest of the season really nice.”
 
Anderson made his full debut on the PGA TOUR during the 2011-12 season, making 25 starts with 13 made cuts and three top-25 finishes. He most recently spent the 2017-18 season on the PGA TOUR, making 20 starts with six made cuts and two top-25 finishes. Anderson has played in 66 PGA events total since 2009. In 10 seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour, the Beaufort, S.C., native, has made 149 starts with 93 made cuts, two wins 38 top-25 finishes and 16 top-10 finishes.
 
A 2008 South Carolina graduate, Anderson was a four-year starter for the Gamecocks, earning PING/GCAA All-American honors twice (2005, 2008). He was a two-time First Team All-SEC selection (2005, 2008) and was named the 2005 SEC Freshman of the Year.
 
The 25 TOUR card earners on Sunday will carry over Points to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where positions on the Priority Ranking list, used to set TOUR fields each week, will be finalized.
 
An additional 25 cards will be awarded following the conclusion of the three-event Finals, which begin next week in Columbus, Ohio, with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. The final two events consist of the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco (Aug. 22-25) and Korn Ferry Tour Championship (Aug. 30-Sept. 2). The second set of 25 cards will be based on Points earned solely in the Finals.
 
Three-time All-American Matt NeSmith still has a chance to pick up his PGA TOUR card as well. He finished the regular season 46^th on the points list. The North Augusta, S.C., native, has made 13 cuts in 22 starts this season with six top-25s and three top-10s.

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