By Robert Wilson
This time next month, Jackson Academy alumnus Wilson Furr’s dreams of making the PGA Tour could come true with a strong finish in the next three tournaments in the Korn Ferry Tour.
Furr has had back-to-back Top 10 finishes and has moved up to No. 28 on the points list on the Korn Ferry. The Top 30 on the points list after the Korn Ferry season ends with the Korn Ferry Championships receive their PGA Tour card, a very big deal. It’s like going from playing Class AAA minor league baseball to getting called up to a Major League team.
The Korn Ferry Tour is one level below the PGA Tour. This is Furr’s first year on the Korn Ferry Tour. Furr, 25, is in his third pro season after playing at Alabama.
Furr gets a chance to move even higher on the list this week when he plays in the Simmons Bank Open in College Grove, Tenn., a suburb of Nashville, starting Thursday with the final round Sunday. Next is the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship Sept. 21-24 in Columbus, Ohio. The Korn Ferry Tour Championship is Oct. 5-8 in Newburgh, Ind.
He has 754 points this season. Cody Blick also has 754, and Brett Drewitt is No. 30 at 742. Logan McAllister is No. 31 at 793. Furr is only behind one point to No. 27 (Grayson Murray) and two points behind No. 26 (Rhein Gibson).
Furr has already clinched a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour next season, regardless of his finish in the last three tournaments.
Keep up with Furr’s progress at pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour.
Furr made a big jump in June when he finished tied for second in the AdventHealth Championship in Kansas City. He set a course record when he shot a 63 in the first round and finished 18 under, tied with Rico Hoey and one shot behind winner Grayson Murray. Furr led after the first round, co-leader after the second round and solo leader after the third round, but Murray shot 4 under in the final round to pass Furr, who shot 1 under. Furr’s outstanding finish vaulted him from 78th place to 26th place.
“A couple of weeks ago I was staring at a wall, thinking I had just lost my card,” Furr said after finishing second in the event in June. “To be two Top 10s in the past two tournaments, I’m proud of myself for sure. I’m still hungry to get one of these things. I’m a big frustrated, I definitely had a shot at it. I’m pleased with the way the week went; I knew I play well to keep it going. I had a lot of fun. That was the coolest part. I really enjoyed it. I had a good time. I feel like I did a good job today, just didn’t make putts, which you have to do, especially on Sunday. There is a lot of learn from, but I’ll be back.”
Furr made another move back into the Top 30 recently with his two consecutive Top 10 finishes.
He finished tied for third in the Magnit Championship in New Jersey Aug. 20 and tied for sixth in the Albertsons Boise Open Aug. 27 in Idaho. Those two finishes moved up Furr 17 places, from 45th to 28th. He was 50th two weeks before that, so Furr has made a great surge over the past four events.
Furr has made 14 cuts in 22 events and has one runner-up finish, one third place, two Top 5, four Top 10 and seven Top 25 finishes this season on the Korn Ferry Tour. He has won $264, 032, including $97,541 in the past two events. He is one of the hottest players on the Korn Ferry right now.
Jackson native, former PGA Tour player and Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame member Randy Watkins knows Furr has what it takes to make it to the PGA Tour and get this card.
“Wilson has amazing athletic abilities and physically superior to most and perhaps the best I’ve ever seen from Mississippi,” said Watkins, who is the CEO of Randy Watkins Golf, owner Lake Caroline, Patrick Farms, and the Whisper Lake Golf Clubs. “He’s long, accurate, has great touch and creativity and has great competitive courage. Wilson is a very very smart young man that is super driven to be the best he can be. He’s had and is having a tremendous year. Wilson has set two course records along with a stellar stroke average of around 68. He’s in great shape to move up to the PGA Tour next year but will need to continue his fine play to advance. I’ve very proud of him but I’m not as all surprised at his success. Wilson is a very good friend and all of Mississippi should be proud of him.”
Furr made his professional debut at the U.S. Open as an automatic qualifier in 2021 at Torrey Pines, Calif. Furr shot 77 and 82 in the first two rounds and didn’t make the cut. He received one of the 54 automatic qualifying spots when four players withdrew.
Furr helped Alabama reach four consecutive NCAA Regionals, including a national runner-up finish in 2018. He shot a 9-under 62 in the second round of the 2020 U.S. Amateur on his way to becoming the second player in Alabama men’s golf history to win stroke play medalist honors.
Furr was a second-team Rolex All-American in 2015 while at JA and finished second in the 2015 Junior PGA Championship. At age 16, Furr became the youngest player in the 100-year history of the Mississippi State Amateur to win the event, winning by eight strokes and missing the tournament record by two strokes.
In 2018, Furr won the Mississippi State Amateur for the second time, qualifying him to play in the PGA Sanderson Farms Classic in Jackson.
Furr was ranked as the No. 6 high school prospect in the country in the 2017 class by Golfweek.com.
He was one of six players named to the boys United States Junior Ryder Cup team in the summer of 2016.
Video practicing with Randy Watkins
