FRENCH LICK, Ind. - Florida Southern College alum John VanDerLaan is officially TOUR BOUND after earning his PGA Tour membership for the 2026 season.
VanDerLaan finished 17th on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, joining the top 20 players who earned PGA TOUR membership for the 2026 season. The 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season ended on Sunday with the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance at The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Golf Resort, where he finished with a 292 (+4) after four rounds.
At Florida Southern, he was a four-time All-American and the 2018 Jack Nicklaus Award winner for NCAA Division II. He secured 11 individual wins during his career and was a member of the 2017 NCAA Division II national championship team. VanDerLaan went on to win the individual national title at the 2018 NCAA Division II Championship, after seven individual wins during his senior year. After his four years at Florida Southern, VanDerLaan turned professional in 2018, playing the 2019 season on the PGA TOUR Canada.
VanDerLaan earned his PGA TOUR membership for the first time in what was his fifth consecutive season on the Korn Ferry Tour. He stood No. 52 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List with three events remaining and earned a place in the top 20 with his first Korn Ferry Tour win at the 2025 Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship last month. VanDerLaan also finished in the top 75 of the Korn Ferry Tour Points List each of his four previous seasons on Tour, with his career-high finish being No. 42 in 2023.
The first PGA Tour start for VanDerLaan came in 2018 at the Barbasol Championship, winning an exemption by beating four other Jack Nicklaus Award winners in an 18-hole shootout. He was the 16th Moccasin who had played in a PGA event, joining Lee Janzen, Rocco Mediate, and others as former FSC members in the PGA.
| Player |
Years at FSC |
1st PGA Event |
PGA Tour Victories |
| Rodney Butcher |
89,90,91,92 |
1997 |
0 |
| Tim Crouch |
11,12,13,14 |
2015 |
0 |
| John Curley |
94,95,96 |
2002 |
0 |
| Marco Dawson |
82,83,84,85 |
1991 |
2 |
| Tom Gleeton |
77,78,79 |
1980 |
0 |
| Ralph Howe |
84, 86,87,88 |
1989 |
0 |
| Lee Janzen |
83,84,85,86 |
1990 |
8 |
| Jeff Klauk |
97,98,99,00 |
2009 |
0 |
| Greg Koch |
04,05,06,07 |
2020 |
0 |
| Bobby Lennon |
83 |
2007 |
0 |
| Rocco Mediate |
83,84 |
1986 |
6 |
| Travis Perkins |
96,97,98,99 |
2008 |
0 |
| Dean Refram |
58,59 |
1960 |
2 |
| Steve Sokol |
01,02 |
2004 |
0 |
| Darren Stiles |
92,93,94,95 |
2003 |
1 |
| John VanDerLaan |
15,16,17,18 |
2018 |
0 |
|
