Robby Shelton dominated junior golf in Alabama and then established himself as a premier rising star at the University of Alabama. In his first full year as a pro, he finished No. 2 on the 2017 Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit to prove his capability on the professional level.
Earning his first PGA TOUR card was the next logical step, and the 24-year-old checked that box with a one-shot victory at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Nashville Golf Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation in early May.
Robby Shelton carried plenty of momentum to Nashville, having recorded back-to-back top-four finishes entering the week, including a runner-up in his home-state Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship.
With rounds of 64-73-65-71 at Nashville Golf & Athletic Club, Robby Shelton held off eventual Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler by a shot.
By surpassing 830 points on the Korn Ferry Tour—the threshold to deem a player secure inside The 25—Shelton was declared PGA TOUR-bound upon his victory in the Music City.
“To finally get it done means so much to me,” Shelton said after raising the event’s signature guitar trophy. “I’ve been grinding for two to three years now, and it just hasn’t all been there. This week, it was.”
Shelton had an up-and-down 2018 Korn Ferry Tour season as a rookie, making 12 cuts in 22 starts, but with only two top-25 finishes. The key: one of those top-25s, the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation, was a runner-up finish, allowing him to maintain full Korn Ferry Tour status and avoid Q-School.
The avid hunter and fisherman retooled him game over the offseason and began 2019 with plenty of motivation to take the next step and earn his TOUR card. As Shelton has done time and again throughout his golf life, he delivered.
This article first appeared in the PGA TOUR December 2019-May 2020 issue, which can be read here.
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