Minnesotan Hitchner Finishes Sixth in Fortinet Cup Standings, Earns Korn Ferry Promotion for 2026

  SURREY, British Columbia – Derek Hitchner, a former Blake School standout who went on to play collegiate golf at Pepperdine University, finished in a tie for sixth place at the Fortinet Cup Championship Sunday to place inside the top-10 of the Fortinet Cup Standings and earn a promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2026 season.

Hitchner, 26, from Minneapolis, struggled early during his sophomore season on the PGA Tour Americas, notching one top-10 finish while missing the cut in six of his first nine starts.

In August, Hitchner placed 14th at the BioSteel Championship before earning a runner-up finish at the CRMC Championship presented by Northern Pacific Center at Cragun’s Legacy Courses in Brainerd, Minn. He then claimed a second consecutive runner-up finish at the ATB Classic two weeks later.

Entering the final event of the season ninth in the standings, Hitchner bookended rounds of 67, helped by a second-round 62, to finish tied for sixth, securing his Korn Ferry Tour card for next season.

Hitchner closed out the season in sixth place in the final Fortinet Cup standings, notching four top-10s in 16 events, while earning more than $73,000.

As an accomplished junior golfer, Hitchner won the Class AA individual title to close out his sophomore season at Blake, breaking the tournament scoring record by shooting 10-under 134 at Ridges at Sand Creek.

In 2021, Hitchner recorded one of the best seasons in recent history as he claimed a top-20 finish at the Sunnehanna Amateur before a come-from-behind victory at the Trans-Miss Amateur at Windsong Farm in July.      

Days later, he qualified for the U.S. Amateur and followed it with a 15-under 201 tally at the MGA Amateur, marking a new low in relation to par, topping Frankie Capan's 12-under finish a year prior at Edina Country Club, as well as James McLean's 54-hole aggregate score of 203 set in 1998 at Rochester Golf and Country Club.

During his memorable stretch, Hitchner played 327 holes in 38-under par, shooting even par or better in 16 of his 18 rounds—12 straight being under par.

The 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season kicks off in the Bahamas in January.