Thorbjornsen is TOUR Bound – Stanford University Athletics

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Stanford senior Michael Thorbjornsen is officially headed to the PGA TOUR, securing his TOUR card by finishing the season as the No. 1 player in the PGA TOUR U Class of 2024 rankings as announced by the PGA at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships on Monday. 

He becomes the fourth golfer to finish their collegiate career as the No. 1 player in PGA TOUR University, behind Texas Tech’s Ludvig Åberg (2023), Texas’ Pierceson Coody (2022) and Florida State’s John Pak (2021), and joins Åberg as only the second player to earn a PGA TOUR card through the PGA TOUR U pathway system. 

“PGA TOUR U is, I think, one of the best programs in all of sports,” said Thorbjornsen. “What they’ve done, creating a pathway to the PGA TOUR and to these different tours underneath it, it’s huge. It gives students and us golfers reasons to stay for four years, and you can’t really pass up on the opportunities that they present to you.”

Hailing out of Wellesley, Mass., Thorbjornsen was a three-time tournament champion for the Cardinal, earning medalist honors at the 2024 Cabo Collegiate, 2023 Pac-12 Championships, and the 2022 Fighting Illini Invitational. He finishes his career with the third highest scoring average in program history with a 70.40 on 121 rounds, registering 19 top-10s and 25 top-20 tournament finishes in his four years with the Cardinal. 

A member of the 2023 Pac-12 Championship team, Thorbjornsen is a two-time Ping All-American, a three-time All Pac-12 First Team member, and the 2023 Pac-12 Golfer of the Year. The senior was also named a finalist for two of the most prestigious awards in collegiate golf this season, the Fred Haskins Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award.

After missing the fall season due to injury, Thorbjornsen was in a tight battle with Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht for the No. 1 ranking, briefly relinquishing the top spot to Lamprecht in late February. Upon his return to action, Thorbjornsen registered a tournament win, five top-10 finishes and 12 sub-70 rounds in eight starts this season, sealing his bid on the professional circuit after Lamprecht withdrew from the NCAA Championships in the second round of stroke play. 

“Christo has been a huge part in my success this spring pushing me, even though we’re not together and I rarely see him,” said Thorbjornsen. “Finishing in that No. 1 spot is massive, so just doing everything you can every single day, making sure you’re getting one percent better every single day, is…