Johnny Keefer is one of the hottest players on the planet – and he just got into PGA Championship

NBC Sports

06-05-2025

For a split second, Johnny Keefer didn't think it was real.
The email, which popped in his inbox at 12:49 p.m. CT Monday, contained the subject line: John Keefer, you are invited to compete in the 107th PGA Championship. He nearly deleted it.
'It almost looked like something that could've been spam,' Keefer said Monday afternoon from his home in San Antonio. 'But then I saw the top header and was like, 'Whoa!''
It wasn't until last Wednesday that Keefer was even made aware of the possibility that he could be teeing it up in his first major championship next week at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. He shared a pro-am group with someone affiliated with the PGA of America at last week's Tulum Championship, the annual Korn Ferry Tour stop in Mexico, and was asked by the man, 'See you at Quail Hollow?' Keefer, confused, thought to himself, What's at Quail Hollow? He then was enlightened by the fact that the PGA Championship field is traditionally filled with players ranked inside and just outside the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
At No. 92 in last week's world ranking (No. 93 now), Keefer, unbeknownst to him, was essentially a lock to receive an invite.
Other players around the top-100 bubble who aren't yet in the field include Keith Mitchell (90), Gary Woodland (94), Beau Hossler (98), Justin Lower (100), Sami Valimaki (106) and David Puig (107), the latter of whom announced on social media that he'd received his PGA invite. Amateur Luke Clanton is No. 103 in the world, though the PGA historically does not invite amateurs based on world rank.
It's rare that full-time KFT players earn their way into the PGA, though Tim Widing did so just last season.
Keefer's college coach at Baylor, the legendary Mike McGraw, told Keefer last year that when Keefer qualified for his first major, to save him a ticket because he wouldn't miss it.
'I just didn't think it'd happen this quickly,' McGraw said.
Neither did Keefer.
Not even 12 months ago, he found himself on the outside looking into the top 25 on the PGA Tour University rankings with only the NCAA Championship to play. But a T-11 finish at Omni La Costa, Keefer moved to No. 25 on the nose, earning himself the final PGA Tour Americas card.
'If I finished one shot worse, I could've theoretically been playing APTs (All Pro Tour events) right now,' Keefer said.
Instead, Keefer headed to Canada for the summer without a clue, or as Keefer described it, 'in shambles.' And yet, he put together one of the most impressive seasons north of the border in recent memory – one win, four seconds and four more top-6 finishes in 10 starts – to easily win the points title and graduate to the KFT, where this year he's posted four top-6 showings, including a win two weeks ago at the Veritex Bank Championship in Dallas.
If he's lost any momentum since last June, it's because he contracted a stomach virus in Tulum and was forced to withdraw on the fourth tee box on Saturday because he was violently puking.
'It feels like just yesterday I was in Canada, and now it's major time,' Keefer added. 'I can't really describe it. … I don't think I could've expected anything like this.'
Keefer, who was born in Baltimore but grew up in Texas, admittedly knows little about Quail Hollow, which annually hosts the PGA Tour's Truist Championship and last hosted the PGA in 2017. But his longtime instructor, Bryan Gathright, recently told Keefer, 'You'll love this place. It's right in your wheelhouse.'
Keefer's game took off his fifth year in Waco. Opting to double major in business management instead of getting his MBA in accounting, Keefer had more time to devote to golf. He invested in a launch monitor and dialed in his yardages, especially with his wedges. Before that, it wasn't uncommon for Keefer to aim 30 feet from a flag from 130 yards out.
These days, Keefer has improved in just about every facet. He's ninth on the KFT in total driving, No. 22 in greens hit in regulation, sixth in scrambling and No. 26 in putting average. It all adds up to Keefer sitting second in points, behind only Hank Lebioda, though he'll have to miss next week's tournament in Kansas City to play the PGA.
Only 20 guys earn PGA Tour cards via the KFT this year, so Keefer has less of a margin for error than previous years. But it's also a good problem to have, especially considering Keefer believes he can play well.
After all, since turning pro, Keefer has fired a whopping 17 rounds of 64 or better in PGA Tour-sanctioned competition. To compare, Scottie Scheffler has 11, Ludvig Åberg eight and Rory McIlroy three.
'I just watched Scottie shoot 31 under on a pretty good course,' Keefer said. 'I know what No. 1 in the world looks like. I know what Rory looks like when he's on. But it doesn't really scare me. … On any level, Korn Ferry, Americas, PGA Tour, signature events, major championships, good golf is going to play really well. I'm really excited to test myself against them and against a major championship course because obviously I've never played in one.
'Just go out there, try and have some fun, try and shoot some low numbers, and hopefully have a really late tee time on the weekend.'