Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland both made their PGA Tour debut in the 2019-2020 calendar season. They were two promising amateurs then, but nobody expected them to win as much as they did. From 2019 to 2023, both young golfers won six tournaments each. For Morikawa, his biggest wins were the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open. As for Hovland, he became the 2023 TOUR Championship. At the time, the two pros succeeded quickly on the PGA Tour, but many still struggled to become Tour-bound. One such golfer was Braden Thornberry.

Once the top-ranked amateur in the world even beating Morikawa at the 2017 Sunnehanna Amateur event and was his teammate at the 2017 Walker Cup, Thornberry tasted success later than his two counterparts. He recently got his PGA Tour card after winning the Korn Ferry Championship delayed than the two pros. So, was it annoying for Thornberry to see others of his class join the PGA Tour before him? This was the question the 1-time KFT winner was asked at the GOLF’s Subpar podcast.

Without hesitation, Thornberry replied, “It was very frustrating.” The frustration stemmed from the point of view that Thornberry turned pro before them and was expecting to play in some PGA Tour events too. However, Hovland, Morikawa, Justin Su, and Matthew Wolff were big four and played in 6 to 7 consecutive events, unlike Thornberry, who couldn’t. Being a year older than them but not clinching similar success, Thornberry shared, “That was a little disappointing to me.” 

However, he clarified that he was never sad with his circumstances as he was playing on the Korn Ferry Tour. And despite the people asking him if he was jealous, Thornberry felt that at the KFT he still had the opportunity to get to the PGA Tour. But frustration followed him there as well.

Thornberry was doubtful of his future after consistent failures

Braden Thornberry joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 in the hopes of getting the 30 PGA Tour cards awarded at the end of the year. However, in the next six years leading up to the 2024 season finale, Thornberry could never finish in the top or even win any of the Korn Ferry Tour events. As failures followed him, doubts seeped in too. He was doing everything that could help him win, working hard, practicing, and following similar tactics as he did to win as an amateur.

However, nothing was working in his favor. He started thinking, but even through the ups and downs, Thornberry kept going without letting the doubts slow him down. He reaped the fruits of this hard work and got the PGA Tour card for the 2025 season after winning the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Championship – Thornberry was extremely grateful and proud of how he handled all the negatives that his pro career threw at him initially.

Without his perseverance, he would not have joined Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland at the PGA Tour and had the chance to win against them once again. What’s your take on Braden Thornberry overcoming all odds? Share below.