New Jacksonville resident Karl Vilips picks ideal time for first PGA Tour win | Frenette

AI-assisted summary
• At 23 years old, Karl Vilips is quickly ascending in the world of professional golf.
• Vilips recently became the first golfer to sign with Tiger Woods' clothing line, Sun Day Red.
• Vilips will be participating in his first Players Championship.

Of the 144 players who teed off Thursday at The Players Championship, few have seen their golf life put into fast forward quite like newly arrived Jacksonville resident Karl Vilips. 

It can only be described as something beyond warp speed because Vilips, who grew up in Australia and moved to Hilton Head, S.C., at age 11, is ascending the golf world at a dizzying pace. 

Until last April, the 23-year-old Stanford product had never won a college tournament until capturing the Pac-12 Championship. Then he goes to the Korn Ferry Tour, wins in his third start at the Utah Championship (along with six other top-25 finishes), gets promoted to the PGA Tour, and snags the last spot at The Players with a three-shot victory Sunday at the Puerto Rico Open in his fourth start. 

How crazy is that? This crazy. 

Many KFT players wait three, four, five years, often never, to get to golf’s big leagues. What Vilips did was the baseball equivalent of jumping from rookie league or low-A ball to MLB in practically the bat of an eye. 

“To see where I am now, it’s been a wild 10 months, something you can only dream of in college to be in this position, but I’ll take it,” Vilips said Wednesday as a dozen other first-time participants at The Players conducted media interviews on the grounds of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. 

Since his 26-under-par, tournament-record victory at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, where he slept on the third-round overnight lead, the Vilips whirlwind hasn’t slowed down. 

Early Wednesday, he finally got to scroll through 198 text messages he received since his win in Puerto Rico, including one Vilips will likely never delete. It came from his golf idol and fellow Stanford alumnus, Tiger Woods, who also left a voicemail on Sunday that Vilips talked about during his post-victory interview. 

“That was really cool, just honored,” said Vilips. “[Woods] emphasized how proud he was of me and really enjoyed watching the back nine [on television]. I had a chance to reflect on it that night. It’s obviously super special, someone I looked up to for so long. 

“Yeah, just surreal. I had a hard time processing it, that it was from him. Really cool, something you can only dream of as a kid.” 

Here’s something else pretty cool — Tiger didn’t win on Tour until his fifth start at the 1996 Shriners Children’s Open. Vilips needed one less start to get into the winner’s circle, collecting $720,000, entry into the PGA Championship and a two-year Tour exemption. 

Building a Tiger connection 

Obviously, Woods doesn’t make a habit of messaging every Tour winner, first-timer or otherwise, but he had a good reason to connect with Vilips. 

Just three weeks ago, Vilips became the first golfer to sign with the clothing line, Sun Day Red, which is owned by TaylorMadeGolf, but has Woods as a partner. In no time at all, that merger paid immediate dividends for the apparel’s brand recognition. 

While Vilips told me and two global media members that the Sun Day Red staff approached him about getting a deal done, there had already been mutual interest. As one Tour official acknowledged, Vilips made inquiries with Korn Ferry staff last summer about what he could do to facilitate a clothing contract with Sun Day Red. 

“Over the summer, I didn’t sign with anybody, just wanted to build my brand, put my name out there and find a deal that was right for me, some clothes that fit great” said Vilips. “I’m also pretty particular about the shoe I wear. 

“When Sun Day Red came up to me and asked if I wanted to be an ambassador, I was like, absolutely. To be the first, it was kind of a no-brainer.” 

Vilips’ fashion statement, in addition to the Stanford tie-in, will likely build his blossoming relationship with Tiger. The two first met when Vilips was an 8-year-old golfer at the 2009 Australian Masters, which Woods won. 

“I got to meet him behind the range with some IMG guys, which my Dad somehow set up,” said Vilips. “Honestly, I remember not saying a word really, just looking at him and being super intimidated.”

Stadium Course now home game for Vilips 

Being a world traveler is nothing new for Vilips, a golf prodigy who was introduced to the game by his father, Paul, and earned the nickname “Koala Karl” while growing up in Australia. 

A native of Jakarta, Indonesia (moved to Australia as an infant), Vilips won the US Kids World Championship at ages 7 and 9. He captured the prestigious Southern Amateur in 2017 and is a two-time member of the international team at the Junior Presidents Cup. 

Ironically, at age 8, he was among the first golfers to post videos on the YouTube Channel, which his father arranged to help defray the cost of traveling to golf tournaments. Its popularity has soared so much that on Wednesday, YouTube golfers played in the Creator Content Classic at the Stadium Course. 

“Seeing YouTube golf at the moment, it’s pretty crazy,” said Vilips. “When I started those videos, it was pretty much me, Peter Finch and Rick Shields. This Creator Content Classic is something you could never imagine 10 years ago.” 

Vilips has about 40,000 YouTube subscribers, a number almost certain to jump significantly as his name recognition skyrockets. 

Since coming to the U.S. to attend the Hank Haney International Golf Academy in South Carolina, then later moving to the Tampa area for high school at Saddlebrook Prep Academy, it’s been a steady rise up the world golf ladder. 

He finished 10th in the 2024 PGA Tour University rankings. Once Vilips found success on Korn Ferry and secured Tour status, he decided in November to get away from California. 

Vilips moved in with his best friend, Tour member Michael Thorbjonrsen, and two other KFT players to a Jacksonville apartment complex just 15 minutes from the Stadium Course. 

“I thought it’d be a great place to hang out and play, practice at TPC Sawgrass,” said Vilips. “Really, [moving here] was the facilities and relationships.” 

Vilips has played the Stadium Course about once a week since the move. He also teed it up in December with another local resident, Ludvig Aberg, the world’s No. 4-ranked player, at the Dye Valley Course. Vilips wasn’t initimidated, shooting 66 to Åberg’s 68. 

“It was cold, it was windy and he shot like 8-under or something like that, and I’m like, ‘Okay, he can play,’ “ said Åberg. “And he’s a really nice guy. I like him a lot. He’s going to play a lot of good golf on the PGA Tour.” 

 Vilips rolling early, stumbles late

Since Vilips pulled off a remarkable feat just to get into the Tour’s signature event, many wonder if he can defy the odds and make another big impression in his Players debut. 

Most first-time participants struggle in this tournament, with Craig Perks (2002) being the only winner. Last year, seven of 22 first-timers made the cut, with Åberg being the lone top-25 finisher. He wound up eighth at 14-under-par (274), six shots behind champion Scottie Scheffler. 

Vilips has a 2:13 p.m. tee time Thursday off No. 10, playing with Sam Burns and Cameron Young. 

Unlike most first-timers at the Players, at least Vilips has the benefit of Stadium Course experience. He has played in the Junior Players Championship six times, finishing in the top-10 five times, including runner-up to David Ford in 2020. 

“I’ll try to treat it like any other tournament, but I’ll 100 percent be nervous on that first shot, playing with two guys I look up to,” Vilips said. “I just got to execute a draw 3-wood, which, under the gun, who knows, I’m just trying to hit the fairway.”

Vilips executed just as he wanted Thursday on his opening hole and was in full control for most of the day. He got it to 4-under after 14 holes (two shots off the lead) with consecutive birdies at No. 2, 3 and 4 of his back nine, but poor tee shots on three of his last four holes led to a double bogey, bogey and bogey as he finished with an even-par 72.

"I definitely didn't feel low on energy, just some poor shots down the stretch," said Vilips. "There may be just some central fatigue setting in that I don't even feel. It was just unfortunate the round closed out that way."

Vilips hit what he called an "anomaly shot" on the sixth tee, duck-hooking a 3-wood into the water for his double bogey.

"I was in control for the most part," Vilips added. "Just take those weird swings out, it's a good day. Still I'll take even for my first round in this tournament. Battled through the nerves pretty well to start. Plenty of golf left to play."

Considering the whirlwind four days leading up to his Players debut, Vilips had good reason to have more positive vibes over his overall first-round performance than to be down about the finish. 

Vilips learned to respond in tough situations 

All facets of Vilips’ game now appear to be working just fine. In Puerto Rico, after briefly surrendering the final-round lead with an “idiotic” bogey at No. 12, Vilips responded with three straight birdies to regain control for good. 

“When I look back on the key moments in that round, I’m just really happy I was able to get in the right mindset in the present and execute a quality golf shot,” said Vilips. “That comes with the experience I had of losing so many close events in college and finally pulling through.” 

Unquestionably, from the time Vilips had a meltdown on the course during his freshman year at Stanford, which required serious counseling from head coach Conrad Ray and assistant Cole Buck, he’s been a fast learner. 

“I was losing it mentally on the course, lost all faith in the game,” Vilips said of that 2020 episode. “I remember having a good sit-down with Conrad and Cole and kind of figuring it out from there, doing my best to not ever do that again. That was huge for the mental side of the game for me.” 

When Vilips made his Players debut Thursday, he did it in relative anonymity. With the world’s top three golfers — Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele — starting play 44 minutes earlier on the front nine and drawing big crowds, Vilips and his playing partners drew only polite applause from a small group of spectators when introduced for their late afternoon tee time.

As Vilips made his surge to get to 4-under during the 5 o'clock rush hour, there was no traffic jam following him at the Stadium Course. You could barely hear a clap as those birdie putts fell at the second, third and fourth holes.

But give this young promising Tour player, who now calls Jacksonville home, a little more time to keep making a name for himself. 

There’s no telling how quickly Karl Vilips, who just jumped 140 spots in the world rankings to No. 106, will continue to rise into the golf spotlight. 

Gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette