Hitt, Menante Give Tar Heels Five PGA Tour Players In 2027

When Austin Hitt won the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Championship Sunday at The Federal Club in Glen Allen, Va., he not only claimed his first tournament title as a professional but he secured his 2027 PGA Tour card.

The Longwood, Fla., native played for the Tar Heels from 2016-21. He was honorable mention All-America in 2019 and won All-ACC honors in 2019 and 2021. Hitt recorded the second-lowest scoring average in UNC history, behind only close friend and teammate Ben Griffin, another Tar Heel now competing on the PGA Tour.

Hitt and Dylan Menante both earned 2027 PGA Tour cards as result of their season-long play on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Menante, who played two seasons in Chapel Hill (2023-25), had already earned his card prior to the KFT Championship. He helped Carolina win the 2024 ACC Championship, twice earned All-ACC honors and went 6-1-1 in match play as a Tar Heel.

The top 20 players on the KFT points list at the end of the season graduate to the PGA Tour. Hitt entered the final event 22^nd, two spots outside the cut but climbed all the way to No. 6 in the final standings. Menante locked up his berth a week early and finished 13^th in the season-long standings.

When the PGA Tour begins play in January 2027 at The American Express in La Quinta, Calif., five Tar Heels will be eligible to compete – Griffin, Hitt, Menante, David Ford and Ryan Gerard.

Griffin represented the United States in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage, has won three times on the PGA Tour, made the FedExCup Playoffs in four consecutive seasons and has compiled more than $22 million in career earnings. The Chapel Hill native played for the Tar Heels from 2014-18, was a two-time All-America and All-ACC honoree and set Carolina's single-season and career scoring records.

Gerard won for the first time on the PGA Tour in 2025, finished third in the 2026 PGA Tour Championship and placed second three times and earned more than $10 million this season. The Raleigh native was an All-America in 2020 and 2022 and All-ACC as a senior in 2022. He helped the Tar Heels advance to match play in the 2021 and 2022 NCAA Championships.

Griffin and Gerard each have two top-10 finishes in majors and are currently ranked among the top 30 players in the world (Gerard is 23^rd and Griffin 27^th).

David Ford earned his PGA Tour card by winning PGA Tour U as a UNC senior in 2025. He won National Player-of-the-Year honors that year, became the first Tar Heel to win first-team All-America honors twice, was a four-time All-ACC honoree and set nearly every single-season and career mark in the UNC record book. The Peachtree Corners, Ga., native missed most of the 2026 PGA Tour season due to injury but returned to action late in the summer and placed third in the Bank of Utah Championship. He had two other top-20 finishes early in the season.

"I'm thrilled for Austin and Dylan and their families," says Andrew DiBitetto, the Johnny and Tricia Thompson men's golf head coach at Carolina. "There's nothing better than watching your student-athletes' dreams become reality.

"Our program starts with people. We're fortunate to have young men who work hard, compete, stay positive and are relentless in their pursuit of getting better. They also have incredible parents and families who sacrifice so much along the way.

"Our job as coaches is to build relationships, be honest, love them well and help them develop on and off the course. Carolina is a place where you can get a great education, have an incredible experience, become the best version of yourself and pursue your dream of playing and winning on the PGA Tour. You can do it all here and the five men on the PGA Tour are examples of that."

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