Zach Bauchou was prepared to receive the news.
He and his wife Victoria had spent eight months preparing for the arrival of their first child in the summer and fall of 2023. Now, in their third trimester, they knew their new arrival could arrive any day, any time.
Baucho just wasn’t prepared to receive the news when he did it: On the 12th hole of the PGA Tour final qualifier, with his PGA Tour dream hanging in the balance.
Two years ago, Bauchou made the most difficult decision of his career, giving up a chance for his lifelong dream in order to be at his wife’s bedside as she gave birth to their first child. Of course, Bauchou never panicked when the regulation official approached him with the news that his wife was due five weeks early. The official told him he could choose to continue competing or withdraw.
Baucho calmly informed the official of the plan he and Victoria had chosen weeks earlier: He would withdraw from the event and board the first flight home. The next day, Bauchou was in hospital as his first son, James, entered the world – and although he was overjoyed, his emotions about leaving the golf tournament were mixed.
Then 27, Bauchou had spent much of his working life pushing for an opportunity like the PGA Tour’s final qualifier — where a handful of the Korn Ferry Tour’s top players would earn a Tour card for the following year based on their performance that weekend. After a successful career at Oklahoma State, he had struggled just to earn a spot in one of the sports of golf. NOURISHING tournament, then fought back to take his game to where he could consider qualifying for the big show. Now, his WD had raised the possibility that he may even lose his Korn Ferry status, given the points allocation for the final event of the year.
Thankfully, Bauchou retained his Korn Ferry Tour status and began the 2024 season with a new goal of reaching the PGA Tour. But this goal continued to prove elusive. He failed to qualify for a Tour card in 2024 by just three spots.
Bauchou returned for 2025 with a second child on the way and a renewed sense of clarity: It was time to make one final push for the PGA Tour in his age-29 season, heading to the Tour in time to celebrate his 30th birthday.
With two boys watching from home, Bauchou put together the best golf of his life in ’25, winning the Simmons Bank Open for the first time and qualifying for the US Open after a dramatic. (and emotional) final qualifying runhis first major pro start.
By the time the Korn Ferry Tour Championship rolled around last weekend, Bauchou’s fate was sealed. Due to a 9th-place points finish in 2025, he earned PGA Tour status for 2026.
With his family by his side, Bauchou celebrated in Florida as he received his official PGA Tour card. He will be a PGA Tour rookie in the new year, pursuing his childhood dream at the highest level. And he’ll be doing it with a family of three cheering him on closely.
Of course, he had traded in a dream for his family in 2023. But the possibility of having both? He wouldn’t trade it for anything.
