LAKEWOOD RANCH – The allure of 20 PGA Tour Cards up for grabs again brings 156 professional golfers to the tee at Lakewood National Golf Club starting on Thursday, April 2.
The LECOM Suncoast Classic, a regular stop on the Korn Ferry Tour since its inception in 2019, offers a $1 million purse and a check for $180,000 to the champion when the four-day affair wraps up on Sunday, April 5.
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The ultimate goal, of course, is to finish in the top 20 of the Korn Ferry points standings at the end of the 2026 season to guarantee a spot on the 2027 PGA Tour. The 30 top Korn Ferry golfers were awarded PGA Tour Cards through 2024, but the number was reduced to 20 last season.
More than 400 volunteers will be on hand to help players and spectators enjoy the tournament that offers a path to the PGA Tour.
Here are things you need to know if you’re going to check things out this week at Lakewood National.
Top 5 Korn Ferry Points Leaders
Ian Holt – The hottest player on the Korn Ferry Tour heading into the Club Car Classic (March 26-March 29) in Savannah, Ga., has two titles already this season, winning back-to-back at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic the last week of January and The Panama Championship the first week of February. The 30-year-old made the first six cuts and finished in the top 25 five times.
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Alistair Docherty – The 32-year-old Canadian finished seventh at last year’s Suncoast Classic, earning $32,000. Docherty has three top 25 finishes this season on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Taylor Dickson – The 33-year-old from Gastonia, N.C., has three career Korn Ferry Tour victories, including one this season at The Bahamas Classic. Dickson has made more than $1.2 million on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Doc Redman – The 2017 U.S. Amateur champion had early success on the PGA Tour, finishing runner-up at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic as a Monday qualifier, and finishing tied for second at the Palmetto Championship of Congaree in 2021.
James Nicholas – The 29-year-old finished first at the Astara Golf Championship in Bogota, Colombia, during the first week of February. Nicholas grew up in New York City and is a graduate of Yale University.
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Past LECOM Suncoast Classic Champions
2019 – Mark Hubbard was the inaugural Suncoast Classic tournament champion before becoming a mainstay on the PGA Tour, where he has gone on to nine top-five finishes. The 36-year-old has yet to win a major title, but he has racked up more than $12 million in tournament winnings.
Mark Hubbard tees off during the final round of the LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club on Sunday. Hubbard finished at 26-under for a 2-shot victory over Maverick McNealy. SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE STAFF PHOTO / DAN WAGNER
2020 – Andrew Novak has also gone on to cash more than $12 million on tournament Sundays. A regular on the PGA Tour since 2022, the 30-year-old won his first major event in 2025 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He also has two runner-up and two third-place finishes on the PGA Tour.
Andrew Novak, 24, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., shot a 66 on Sunday to finish 23-under par to win the second annual LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch. SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE / JIM BROCKMAN
2021 – Hayden Buckley of the University of Missouri has earned nearly $400,000 playing on the Korn Ferry Tour. The 33-year-old has three Top 25 performances thus far this season and is ranked 33rd on the Korn Ferry points list.
Hayden Buckley tees off during the third round of the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch on Saturday. The event is part of the Korn Ferry Tour. DANIEL WAGNER / HERALD-TRIBUNE
2022 – Byeong Hun An became a fixture on the PGA Tour, earning three top 10 finishes and winning more than $21 million. The 34-year-old changed course by joining the LIV Tour in January of this year.
Byeong Hun An of Seoul, Korea, hits from the tee of the par 3, 253-yard, third hole on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022 during the second round of the LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour at Lakewood National Golf Club.
2023 – Scott Gutschewski won his LECOM title in a playoff over Logan McAllister of the University of Oklahoma. The 49-year-old from Omaha has amassed more than $1.9 million playing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
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2024 – Tim Wilding, a native of Sweden, won a 2-hole playoff over Patrick Cover and Steven Fisk.
2025 – Neal Shipley shot 64-68-70-64 – (-18) and then won a dramatic five-hole playoff over Seungtaek Lee to capture last year’s crown. The 25-year-old has gone on to play in 19 PGA Tour events since then, making the cut 10 times and making more than $450,000 along the way.
Neal Shipley with the trophy after a fifth playoff hole on the 18th hole after sinking a 38-ft putt and winning the tournament by one stroke at the LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club on April 19, 2025 in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
Ticket Prices
Single daily grounds tickets for general admission are $20. A weekly grounds ticket (April 2-5) will cost $60. VIP tickets with elevated and covered seating around the 18th green are $125 for Thursday, $175 for Friday, $200 for Saturday, $200 for Sunday and $650 for the week (April 2-5). VIP amenities include food, beer, wine and liquor. Members of the military, first responders and teachers, along with one guest, can attend free of charge with valid identification. Children below the age of 17 also qualify for free admission. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online at lecomsuncoastclassic.com.
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Tournament Parking
Parking is free and located at Premier Sports Campus at 5895 Post Boulevard, Lakewood Ranch. Spectators can then take a free five-minute trolley ride to the main entrance of Lakewood National. The trolleys will return people to their vehicles until 30 minutes following the day’s conclusion of play. Parking is not available at the golf course.
The Course
Lakewood National Golf Club is an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course that opened in 2016. The yardage for the par-71 course is listed at 7,181 yards, but that could vary a bit during the tournament. Hubbard set the course record for four rounds of tournament play with a blistering 26-under par total of 262 in 2019.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: PGA Tour Cards up for grabs at LECOM Suncoast Classic golf tournament
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