Former PIZM golfer Anders Larson qualifies for PGA Tour event

Jul. 8—Anders Larson has been in this situation before.

But never as a pro.

The former Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa boys golf standout twice qualified in recent years for the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic — held at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. — while maintaining his amateur status so he could finish his Division I college golf career.

That career came to a close with Eastern Kentucky University's third-place finish in the Atlantic Sun Conference championships in late April.

Larson turned pro this summer and has since turned his attention to attempting to qualify for PGA Tour events.

Now, he's earned his way into his first PGA Tour event as a pro. If he makes the 36-hole cut and gets to the weekend at this week's ISCO Championship in Louisville, Ky., he'll keep whatever prize money he earns. The ISCO runs Thursday through Sunday at Hurstbourne Country Club; the total purse for the event is $4 million. All four rounds of the tournament (Thursday through Sunday) will be broadcast by the Golf Channel, from 3-6 p.m. CDT.

As he did with the John Deere Classic in 2023 and 2024, Larson had to survive a pre-qualifiers round (on July 1) just to be able to play in the Monday qualifier this week, on July 6.

He excelled in both, earning co-medalist honors at the 59-golfer Monday qualifier with a 6-under-par 66 to earn one of four spots from the qualifier into the ISCO Championship's 144-player field.

Larson will tee off in the final group of the day in Thursday's first round, at 1:01 p.m. CDT. He'll play in a group with Kristoffer Ventura, a 31-year-old from Norway who played college golf at Oklahoma State University; and Jansen Preston, a University of Kentucky graduate who is from Lexington, Ky.

Larson, a Pine Island native, helped PIZM win its first boys golf team state championship as a senior in 2022, when he finished third individually at state.

He spent his first two years of college golf at Tennessee Tech University, where he averaged 74.13 over 48 rounds in two seasons.

He transferred to Eastern Kentucky prior to the 2024-25 season and led the Colonels in scoring as a junior with a 72.68 average in 34 rounds. He had one runner-up finish as a junior and placed 13th in the Atlantic Sun Conference championships.

Larson again led the Colonels in scoring this year as a senior, at 71.3 across 32 rounds. He also contended for the conference individual championship this spring, placing third at the ASUN meet, shooting 8-under-par in the 54-hole event.

Among the other familiar names in the ISCO Championship field are former Winona State golfer Troy Merritt, six-time Tour winner and former U.S. open champion Lucas Glover, six-time Tour winner Max Homa, five-time Tour winner Camilo Villegas, three-time Tour winner Cameron Champ, defending ISCO champion William Mouw, and reigning NCAA Division I medalist Preston Stout (Oklahoma State).