Aussie rookie matches world No.1

Former Aussie child prodigy Karl Vilips has joined world No.1 Scottie Scheffler as a winner of a coveted rookie of the year award just months into his professional career.

Vilips, who moved to the US when he was 10 to further his golfing ambitions and this year finished his college career at Stanford, Tiger Woods’ school, was named the Korn Ferry Tour’s rookie of the year, an award Scheffler won in 2019.

The 23-year-old who was born in Melbourne and only turned professional in June, did enough in 10 starts on the secondary tour to also secure his PGA Tour card for 2025.

Vilips, who will return home later this month to play the Australian Open, made an immediate impact as a pro, winning at his third start when he took out the Utah Championship, becoming the second-youngest winner on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024.

Vilips was one of only two rookie winners on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024 and one of only two rookies who earned PGA Tour membership for the 2025 season after finishing 19th on the season-long points list despite only playing in 10 events.

His rapid ascension through the professional ranks came after earning All-America Second Team honours in his final year at Stanford, finishing his collegiate career ranked No.5 in Stanford history in career scoring average, a list topped by Woods.

He was a five-time All-American though high school and won the US Kids Golf World Championship at ages seven and nine and the Callaway World Junior at 10 and 12.

Vilips has already made his major championship debut in 2023, playing in the US Open, and has already passed several of his countrymen in the world rankings, rocketing from 4,507th to 239th since June, which makes him the seventh highest-ranked Australian with only Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Cameron Davis, Min Woo Lee, Jason Day and Adam Scott ahead of him.

Scott is the only member of that crew who won’t be at the Australian Open, being played at Kingston Heath and Victoria Golf clubs in Melbourne from November 28.