‘I’m there’: Wichita golfer Sam Stevens achieves dream of earning his PGA Tour card

Taylor Eldridge

Like he does before every tournament round, Wichita native Sam Stevens scribbled himself a note on Sunday morning ahead of the most important round of golf of his life.

It read six words: “I want to play the Tour.”

Reminding himself of the note nearly brought tears to his eyes after Stevens secured a coveted spot on the PGA Tour for the upcoming 2022-23 season with his finish on Sunday in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

Competing with more than 100 other golfers vying for one of 25 PGA Tour cards up for grabs in Newburgh, Ind., Stevens shot a 15-under, 72-hole total of 273 strokes to finish in a tie for 12th place.

Sam Stevens of Wichita tees off at the first hole on the final day of the AdventHealth Championship golf tournament on Sunday at Blue Hills Country Club.
Sam Stevens of Wichita tees off at the first hole on the final day of the AdventHealth Championship golf tournament on Sunday at Blue Hills Country Club.

In the most important tournament of his professional career, Stevens delivered under pressure with a 10-under round of 62 on Saturday that matched the course record. And then needing just a par on the 72nd hole on Sunday, Stevens lagged a 40-foot putt for a tap-in par to unknowingly lock up a PGA Tour card for the first time in his career.

It is particularly special for the 26-year-old Kapaun Mt. Carmel graduate because he has now followed in the footsteps of his father, Charlie, who played on the PGA Tour in 1992, and his grandfather, Johnny, who made 30 PGA Tour starts in 1968-69. The family has produced some of the best golfers, both men and women, to play the game in the state of Kansas.

When recalling the note he had written himself earlier that morning, an emotional Stevens was nearly brought to tears in his post-round interview with Korn Ferry Tour media.

“I’m there,” Stevens said, fighting off tears.

Sunday punctuated what has been the best year of professional golf for Stevens since graduating from Oklahoma State in 2018.

He recorded 11 top-25 finishes in 23 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, made the weekend cut at the Honda Classic in February in his PGA Tour debut and later qualified for the U.S. Open.

Wichita native Sam Stevens earned a spot in the 2022 US Open from a Monday qualifier in Springfield, Ohio.
Wichita native Sam Stevens earned a spot in the 2022 US Open from a Monday qualifier in Springfield, Ohio.

After grinding for nearly five years on the mini-tour scene, the former Kansas high school state champion fulfilled one of his largest professional goals on Sunday. With the new Earnings Assurance Program set to kick in for the 2022-23 season, Stevens is also guaranteed earnings of $500,000 if he makes at least 15 starts on the PGA Tour.

The 2022-23 PGA Tour begins Sept. 15-18 with the Fortinet Championship at the Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif.

Advertisement