PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR, in partnership with the APGA Tour and Bridgestone Americas, today announced the initial Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking for the 2025-26 season, with Camron Jones from Grace College holding the top spot in the opening ranking.
In addition, the PGA TOUR also unveiled the launch of the Underclass Elite Ranking, a new enhancement to the Pathway to Progression Player Development program. Rudy Sautron, a junior from the University of Nebraska, leads the initial ranking. The new summer development opportunity will be available to underrepresented college students in their freshman, sophomore or junior year, with top-ranked players receiving invites to high-level amateur events and performance experiences. The ranking will be updated monthly, with the final ranking released after the collegiate conference championships. The complete rankings can be found HERE.
The Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking, now in its sixth year, provides access and resources to historically underrepresented groups. The program, which runs through the completion of the collegiate golf conference championships, ranks the top black collegiate golfers and assists in their transition to professional golf.
“The Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking has provided tremendous benefits and opportunities to collegiate golfers from underrepresented communities, and we are grateful for Bridgestone’s continued support,” said Kenyatta Ramsey, PGA TOUR Vice President, Player Development. “As we enter a new season, we’re thrilled to debut the Underclass Elite Ranking as we look to further strengthen Pathway to Progression with earlier development opportunities.”
The top five eligible players in the final Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking will earn scholarship membership to the APGA Tour through the summer of 2027, as well as access into the pre-qualifying round of the 2026 PGA TOUR Qualifying School presented by Korn Ferry.
The Pro-Bound Five will also receive player development stipends to assist with costs associated with travel, equipment and instruction and training programs. Additionally, the top ranked player as of Nov. 12, 2025, will receive an exemption into the 2026 APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational, held at Torrey Pines Golf Course next January.
“Empowering the next generation with greater access and opportunity to grow is what really matters,” said Caitlyn Ranson, Director of Partnership Marketing at Bridgestone. “Watching the top-ranked athletes excel each year through the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking program is truly inspiring. We’re proud to support experiences that will shape their journey toward lasting success—both in their golf careers and beyond.”
Following Jones in the initial ranking is Long Island’s Taimur Malik in second place and Virginia State’s Christopher Baguma in third. Michael Alunga and Denis Asaba – both from Livingstone College – round out the top five. The complete ranking (updated weekly) can be found HERE.
Both the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking and Underclass Elite Ranking will utilize the CLIPPD platform to rank eligible golfers via the Average Strokes Gained formula.
About PGA TOUR
By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide.
The PGA TOUR, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, co-sanctions events on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Americas and administers PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry and PGA TOUR University. PGA TOUR members represent the world’s best players, hailing from 28 countries and territories. Showcasing the biggest moments in the sport with history and legacy on the line, the PGA TOUR has long-term domestic distribution partnerships for broadcast coverage on CBS, NBC and Golf Channel and video streaming service on ESPN+. Internationally, the PGA TOUR Studios-produced World Feed is available across 200+ countries and territories in 30 languages via 39 broadcast and digital partners. To date, events across all Tours have generated more than $4 billion in charitable giving.
Fans can follow the PGA TOUR via: the PGA TOUR app and PGATOUR.COM; social media channels, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram (in Spanish, Korean and Japanese), LinkedIn, TikTok, X (in English, Spanish and Japanese); the PGA TOUR Channel on Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) platforms such as the Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, PlutoTV, Xumo, LG Channels, Tubi, Amazon’s Freevee, FireTV and Alexa devices; and WhatsApp (in English and Spanish), WeChat, Weibo, Toutiao and Douyin.
About the Pathway to Progression
Formerly announced in March 2023, the PGA TOUR’s Pathway to Progression player development program is an initiative designed to identify and support underrepresented golf talent across the junior, collegiate and professional levels. The program provides access, resources, and competitive opportunities helping players advance through the amateur ranks. Through strategic alignments and partnerships, Pathway to Progression aims to build a stronger, more diverse pipeline of future TOUR professionals.
About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in tires and rubber, building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Bridgestone Americas employs more than 45,000 people across its worldwide operations. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tires and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
About Bridgestone Golf
Based in Covington, GA, Bridgestone Golf USA manufactures premium golf balls, clubs and accessories under the Bridgestone and Precept brands. The company started making golf balls in 1935 and today has more golf ball design patents than any other company. Beginning in 2006, Bridgestone revolutionized golf ball selection with its custom ball-fitting program, identifying a golfer’s ideal golf ball based on personal swing characteristics. Today, as the #1 Ball-Fitter in Golf, Bridgestone has conducted over four million fittings via a combination of live-fitting, online selection, OTTO Autonomous Ball Fitting, and its V-FIT video ball fitting. The consumer data gathered from ball-fitting continues to inspire Bridgestone’s innovative new golf ball designs, yielding industry-leading performance products for the entire range of players, from recreational golfers to the best in the world. Bridgestone Golf is proudly represented on international professional tours by icons such as Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Matt Kuchar, Jason Day, and Chris Gotterup. Bridgestone Golf USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bridgestone Sports Co. Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo. More information: bridgestonegolf.com.
CONTACT:
Justin Johns, PGA TOUR, justinjohns@pgatourhq.com