Colorado native and former DU golfer Chris Korte not only makes his first career cut on PGA Tour, but he posts a top-20 finish after remarkable 5-hole stretch; also at Puerto Rico Open, former CU golfer Jeremy Paul likewise records his best PGA Tour showing
By Gary Baines – 3/9/2025
Colorado native Chris Korte has Monday qualified for three PGA Tour events in the last five months, which is saying something considering how difficult it is to earn starts that way.
But the former CGA Amateur and Match Play champion hadn’t parlayed his early berths into his first career made cut on the world’s top golf circuit.
Until this weekend, that is.
The University of Denver alum and former Littleton resident not only made the cut at the Puerto Rico Open, but he climbed into the top 10 during Sunday’s final round and finished tied for 16th. And that was despite a three-putt on his final hole.
The showing was worth a hefty $55,240 — no small amount for a touring pro still working to find a home at the highest levels of the game.
As a matter of fact, it was not only Korte’s first made cut on the PGA Tour, it was his first time advancing to the weekend on either the PGA Tour or the Korn Ferry Tour. Last year he was a regular on PGA Tour Americas, where he made 11 cuts in 16 events, with four top-20 finishes. Korte has conditional status on the KFT this year, but has yet to make a start on that circuit in 2025.
In Puerto Rico — an opposite-field PGA Tour event — Korte went 69-66-71-67 for a 15-under-par total, which left him 11 strokes behind winner Karl Vilips. The Colorado native had a remarkable run early in his round, going 6 under par in five holes (his second through sixth of the day) en route to a first-nine 30.
Korte earned a spot in the Puerto Rico field by landing the second of four available berths by shooting a 7-under-par 65 in Monday qualifying in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Korte wasn’t the only player with significant Colorado ties to record his best finish on the PGA Tour on Sunday. Former University of Colorado golfer Jeremy Paul, a rookie member of the PGA Tour, also tied for 16th place in Puerto Rico, where he made his sixth career PGA Tour start.
Paul, who made his first PGA Tour cut two months ago, carded scores of 65-68-70-70 in Puerto Rico. The one-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour also earned $55,240 on Sunday.
For all the scores from the Puerto Rico Open, CLICK HERE.
— Elsewhere in major tour golf for players with strong Colorado ties, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Wyndham Clark led after the opening round of a PGA Tour event for the second time in his last three starts. This time, the Valor Christian alum struggled on the weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to tie for 22nd in Orlando, Fla. The 2023 U.S. Open champion went 67-71-76-74 for an even-par total. SCORES
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com