On the Korn Ferry Tour, players are competing all season long for a chance to earn one of 25 PGA Tour cards through the regular season points list or another 25 cards available in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
However, for the rare player, they're able to win three times in a season and guarantee they'll be among the top players heading to the PGA Tour the next season. That's why the Korn Ferry Tour has long had the Battlefield Promotion, now known as the Three-Win Promotion, for players who are able to win three times during a single Korn Ferry Tour season.
After a player wins for the third time in a season, they are instantly and automatically promoted to the PGA Tour for the remainder of the current and concurrent Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour season, giving them a head start on potentially earning even better status, more money and a spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs. In addition, players who earn the three-win promotion hold fully exempt status for the next season, similar to the winners of the Korn Ferry Tour regular season final points list and the Korn Ferry Tour Finals points list.
However, a player who earns the three-win promotion does not automatically earn an exemption into The Players Championship, unlike what the two points list winners get -- on top of being fully exempt for the next season. It is a bizarre reward in one sense, however, the players who earn a three-win promotion are in the same priority order category as those other two players. Effectively, these players are in a category unto themselves and will almost certainly get in The Players Championship.
So, while a player earning a three-win promotion may seem denied something so obvious on the surface, they get it eventually.
Players to receive Korn Ferry Tour three-win promotion
- 2020-2021 -- Mito Pereira, promoted June 13, 2021 (2020 Country Club de Bogota Championship, 2021 Rex Hospital Open, 2021 BMW Charity Pro-Am)
- 2016 -- Wesley Bryan, promoted August 7, 2016 (Chitimacha Lousiana Open, Mexico Championship, Digital Ally Open)
- 2014 -- Carlos Ortiz, promoted August 24, 2014 (Panama Claro Championship, El Bosque Mexico Championship, WinCo Foods Portland Open)
- 2009 -- Michael Sim, promoted August 23, 2009 (Stonebrae Classic, BMW Charity Pro-Am, Christmas in October Classic)
- 2007 -- Nick Flanagan , promoted August 19, 2007 (Henrico County Open, BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs, Xerox Classic)
- 2005 -- Jason Gore , promoted August 7, 2005 (National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic, Scholarship America Showdown, Cox Classic)
- 2003 -- Tom Carter, promoted August 31, 2003 (Samsung Canadian PGA Championship, Price Cutter Charity Championship, Alberta Calgary Classic)
- 2002 -- Patrick Moore, promoted October 27, 2002 (Richmond Open, Lake Erie Charity Classic, Tour Championship)
- 2001 -- Pat Bates, promoted October 28, 2001 (Siouxland Open, Shreveport Open, Tour Championship)
- 2001 -- Chad Campbell, promoted October 7, 2001 (Richmond Open, Permian Basin Open, Monterey Peninsula Classic)
- 2001 -- Heath Slocum, promoted August 5, 2001 (Greater Cleveland Open, Knoxville Open, Omaha Classic)
- 1997 -- Chris Smith, promoted August 10, 1997 (Upstate Classic, Dakota Dunes Open, Omaha Classic)
