Karl Vilips wins first professional event in US in just his fourth start as a pro

A journey that began as a child prodigy and has been chronicled on his own YouTube channel has reached a massive moment for an Aussie young gun.

As Jason Day and Min Woo Lee missed the medals in Paris there was success for the next generation of Australian golfers, with one-time child prodigy Karl Vilips taking out his maiden professional win on the Korn Ferry Tour in the US.

The victory at the Utah Championship, just the 22-year-old’s fourth professional start after a sterling college career at Stanford, the same school attended by Tiger Woods, has put Vilips on the verge of earning a PGA Tour card.

Vilips, from Perth, moved to the US aged just 11 with his father, and his journey through Saddlebrook Academy in Florida and then Stanford has been fully chronicled on his own YouTube channel.

A winner for the first time 🏆

Karl Vilips claims his first career-win by two strokes @UTChampionship. pic.twitter.com/a04PUbdkc7

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 4, 2024

He only turned professional in June having finished No.10 on the 2024 PGA Tour University Ranking to earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour membership.

After finishing second in his last event, Vilips secured his breakthrough victory in Utah, with a two-shot win aided by his coach, Day’s former long-time mentor, Colin Swanton.

“Four weeks ago you step in, you try to keep playing and in your wildest dreams you imagine winning and shooting up the rankings,” Vilips said on Sunday evening after jumping to 237th on the official world golf rankings, having started 2024 at 4121.

“Suddenly a lot of stress is relieved and I’m just so happy to see today … all of that kind of be solved.

“I think starting out, one of my buddies, Isaiah Salinda here, showed me the ropes. I talked to a lot of guys, Kevin Velo just teaching me a few things, what it takes to win out here. They’ve been great mentors. I’m not sure if they realise the role they played in my development out here.

“But really my coach, Colin Swanton, and my mental coach, Rick Sessinghaus, have just played a huge role in being able to close out tournaments like this because that’s something I struggled with in the past historically.”

Karl Vilips began the week as a conditional member.

Now he has a chance to earn his @PGATOUR card at season’s end. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/l72ZjpQXtz

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 4, 2024

Having started the event at No.44 on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour points list, Vilips jumps to No.15. He needs only to finish in the top 30 after the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour championship to earn his PGA Tour playing card.

Vilips’ father, Paul, was on hand for his son’s victory and said the end goal was clear.

“We’re just going to try to win every time we step up on the first tee of a tournament,” Paul said.

“And the expectations now are to get that PGA Tour card.”