Lehi Sports
Lehi grad KJ Ofahengaue 3rd at PGA college event
Lehi graduate golfer KJ Ofahengaue, now playing on the golf team at Utah Tech University, finished third at the PGA WORKS Men’s Championship, a national collegiate event for members of minority groups played May 5-7 at the Whistling Straits course in Kohler, Wisconsin.
Ofahengaue finished the three-day event at -1 with a combined score of 215. Both the winner (-6) and the runner-up (-3) represented the University of Delaware. They were all competing in the Men’s Individual Division.
According to the event website, “The PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship (formerly known as the National Minority College Championship) originated at a meeting in November 1986, following the Jackson State University Golf Tournament.
“The founders’ goal was to elevate the game at minority colleges and universities by providing student-athletes with the opportunity to compete on a championship stage during an era when they were excluded from playing in many collegiate golf events.
“The inaugural Championship was conducted in the spring of 1987 at Highland Park Golf Course in Cleveland. Since 1998, PGA Golf Club has hosted the Championship, and in 2006 the PGA of America was granted complete ownership and management of the Championship by the National Minority College Golf Scholarship Fund.
“In 2019, PGA REACH, the 501(c)(3) foundation of the PGA of America, assumed ownership of the Championship from the PGA of America.”
Ofahengaue’s high placement granted him eligibility to apply for a sponsor exemption in the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2025 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open on June 19-22.
The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level.
The Wichita Open is played annually at the Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kansas. It’s one of four original Tour events still played. Since the 2013 season, the Korn Ferry Tour has been the primary pathway for those seeking to earn their PGA Tour card.
