Before they turned pro: Recent Stanford grad Karl Vilips
3/9/2025 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com
Vilips won after four starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and four starts on the PGA Tour
Karl Vilips has wasted no time making his presence known in professional golf.
The Stanford graduate, who also recently became the first brand ambassador for Tiger Woods's clothing line Sun Day Red, shot 26-under to win the Puerto Rico Open by three shots. It was just his fourth career PGA Tour start.
According to Justin Ray, Vilips is one of just 12 players since 1970 to win his first PGA Tour title in four or fewer starts.
Also in only his fourth professional start on the Korn Ferry Tour, Vilips finished 25-under to win the Utah Championship at Oakridge Country Club in Farmington, Ut.
Vilips carded rounds of 67-62-64-67 to get to 25-under and win by two shots over Joe Weiler and Matt McCarty. Vilips earned conditional Korn Ferry Tour status by finishing No. 10 in the PGA Tour University Rankings.
Vilips entered the week No. 44 on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Points List, and with the win, he jumps to No. 15 and is in good position to win his first PGA TOUR card within months of turning pro.
The top 30 after the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship will earn a 2025 Korn Ferry Tour membership.
“Four weeks ago, you step in, you try to keep playing, and in your wildest dreams, you imagine winning and shooting up the rankings,” Vilips told the PGA Tour after his win. “Suddenly a lot of stress is relieved and I'm just so happy to see today … all of that kind of be solved.
It's been a wild 3 months for Karl Vilips 😮
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 5, 2024
After beginning his professional career with conditional Korn Ferry Tour status, the 22-year-old was just hoping to finish in the top 75 on the Points List.
With his win @UTChampionship, he's soared to 15th and is in position to earn… pic.twitter.com/0gtyW5X23E
“I think starting out, one of my buddies, Isaiah Salinda here showed me the ropes. I talked to a lot of guys, Kevin Velo just teaching me a few things, what it takes to win out here. They've been great mentors. I'm not sure if they realize the role they played in my development out here. But really my coach, Colin Swanton, and my mental coach, Rick Sessinghaus, have just played a huge role in being able to close out tournaments like this because that's something I struggled with in the past historically.”
In the last two weeks, Karl Vilips is 48-under on the Korn Ferry Tour after a top-five finish last week at 23-under.
Vilips was a Standout at Stanford alongside Michael Thorbjornsen.
The Karl Vilips File
Born in Jakarta, Indonesia
Parents: Son of Paul Vilips and Wulan Meilanie
Accolades
Ping All-America Second Team (2024)
Ping All-America honorable mention (2023)
Ping All-West Region (2024)
Two-Time All-Pac-12 First Team (2023, 2024)
All-Pac-12 Second Team (2022)
Amateur Victories
2017 Southern Amateur
2024 Pac-12 Championship
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