PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The top five players in the final 2023–24 Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking have been announced, with Cole Stevens of Augusta University finishing No. 1 in the ranking. This remarkable achievement, through the strategic partnership and programming between Bridgestone Americas, PGA TOUR Pathway to Progression and the APGA, will provide these players with various benefits, resources and opportunities to enhance their professional careers.

"My goal has always been to play on the PGA TOUR," said Stevens, a native of South Africa. "Earning this (transitional support) will help me out tremendously as I begin my professional golf journey in the United States."

By finishing No. 1, Stevens also earns a sponsor’s exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH, which returns to Raleigh Country Club in North Carolina later this month.

“UNC Health is proud to offer a sponsor’s exemption to the top Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking player again this year,” said Brian Krusoe, tournament director of the UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH. “Our tournament welcomes a wide range of young, aspiring golfers, and we enjoy seeing a talented collegiate player seize this opportunity as they start what we hope will be a long and successful career.”

The final top five players in the 2023–24 Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking are as follows:

Cole Stevens, Augusta University
Gregory Odom Jr., Howard University
Kristopher Stiles, San Jose State University
Everett Whiten Jr., Howard University
Steve Kibare, Dalton State University

Stevens clinched the top spot after winning the Southland Conference Individual Championship in late April, while teammates Gregory Odom Jr. and Everett Whiten Jr. both finished in the top 10 at the NEC Men’s Golf Championship to secure Howard’s NEC title. San Jose State’s Kristopher Stiles carded a season-best T6 at the Oregon Duck Invitational, while Steve Kibare helped his team win the NAIA Southern States Athletic Conference Championship with a top-10 finish.

The class of 2024 ranking utilized the WAGR points average through May 15, 2024, to rank the top student athletes from underrepresented communities in golf across NCAA D-I, D-II, D-III and NAIA Men’s golf.

Each player will receive transitional support to their professional careers in the following areas:

Scholarship access and membership in the APGA Tour through August 2025
Scholarship access into the pre-qualifying round of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry
Clippd technology subscription
Resources to assist with travel to professional events, instruction, equipment and home course membership.

To start next season, the PGA TOUR Pathway to Progression and the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking have partnered with Clippd to provide data for the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking. In late 2023, Clippd was introduced as the official scorer and ranking of collegiate golf.

"We are honored to be selected as the partnering platform for Pathway to Progression. Through our college golf scoring and ranking platform, Scoreboard, we are poised to offer advanced data analytics crucial for this selection process,” said Jonathan Halpern, managing director of Clippd USA. “Furthermore, we're thrilled to extend our game improvement data analytics product, Clippd, to support the mission of providing top-tier technology and training tools to this selection of golfers from historically underserved communities as they embark on their professional golf journey.”

Registration for the 2024–25 Bridgestone Collegiate Ranking will open May 22. The registration link can be found below.

https://registrations.pgatourhq.com/forms/apga/

Below is a complete list of alums from previous years of the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking:

2023

Troy Taylor II, Michigan State
Joel Basaline, Livingstone College
Gary Bullard, Army
Troy Stribling Jr., Florida A&M University
Jason Johnson, Alabama A&M University

2022

Quinn Riley, Duke
Jeffrey Cunningham, Drexel
Kasoma Paulino, Henderson State
Xavier Williams, North Carolina A&T
Travis Jackson, North Carolina Central

2021

Mulbe Dillard, Florida A&M University
Andrew Walker, Michigan State
Mahindra Lutchman, Florida A&M University
Cameron Riley, Florida A&M University
Prince Cunningham, Florida A&M University

About PGA TOUR Pathway to Progression

The PGA TOUR Pathway to Progression player development program is a comprehensive effort to achieve greater diversity in golf by increasing the focus on developing talent from diverse and historically underrepresented groups. The program provides opportunities for talented junior and collegiate golfers from diverse backgrounds to continue their development as they pursue a career as professional golfers.

About Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking

The Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking, now in its fourth year, is a collaboration between Bridgestone Americas, the Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA), PGA TOUR Pathway to Progression & Clippd to enhance the visibility and development of highly talented collegiate golfers from underrepresented communities. Each year, the top five Black collegiate players in the ranking earn opportunities through the program, including a full year of membership on the APGA Tour and automatic entry into the pre-qualifying round of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.