Kjettrup wins CRMC Championship for third victory of season
Published
BRAINERD, Minnesota – Denmark-native Frederik Kjettrup claimed his third win of the season at the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens and earned the Three-Victory Promotion, making him an immediate member of the Korn Ferry Tour and fully exempt through the 2025 season. Rookie Bryce Lewis carded a career-low 9-under 61 in Sunday’s final round to post his career-best finish with a solo second showing. The Masters and U.S. Open low-amateur Neal Shipley secured his second consecutive top-three finish and moved inside the top 20 of the Fortinet Cup to No. 18.
For Kjettrup, it has been a whirlwind of a summer, as four months ago, the 24-year-old was completing an important milestone in his life as he walked across the graduation stage at Florida State University. A month later, the Seminoles finished as runner-up in the NCAA D1 Men's Golf Championship, and with his collegiate career coming to an end, Kjettrup turned a page into his long-awaited professional golf journey. Through a No. 8 finish in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking, Kjettrup became an exempt member on PGA TOUR Americas, and within 10 weeks, captured three victories to culminate another much anticipated achievement: a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Kjettrup started the day off with a four-stroke lead and 18 holes remaining in the penultimate event of the season. After 15 holes and a singular birdie carded, Kjettrup’s lead was diminished, as one group ahead, Bryce Lewis took a one-shot lead after carding seven birdies and an eagle to total 9-under thru 16 holes. After a birdie by Kjettrup on No. 16 and two pars on Nos. 17 and 18 for Lewis, Kjettrup entered No. 18 tied for the lead. The final hole, a 531-yard par 5 and reachable in two, was a promising endpoint for Kjettrup as his previous three rounds posted an eagle-birdie-birdie result. This time was no different as Kjettrup played the hole to perfection; a drive down the middle of the fairway paired with a newly-added 4-hybrid 250 yards to the green left the rookie with 23-feet for eagle. Without missing a beat and two putts to win, Kjettrup sunk the putt and claimed his third victory of the season.
“Obviously a lot of nerves, especially knowing I needed a birdie to win, so a lot of nerves. Definitely felt the heartbeat go up a little bit and some nerves kick in, but tried to control it as good as I can and obviously hit a nice shot in there,” said Kjettrup when recalling his 18th hole. “It felt nice to play good this week and get that third win and be on the Korn Ferry Tour next year. It feels really good. Words can’t really describe it. A step in the right direction and a step up the ladder. I’m really excited for it.”
With the win, Kjettrup becomes the first player to achieve the Three-Victory Promotion since its inception in 2020 for the International Tours (formerly PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, which was combined in 2024 to form PGA TOUR Americas). After the enactment went into place in 2020, six players had won twice in a singular season (Wil Bateman, Chandler Blanchet, Noah Goodwin, Davis Lamb, Brandon Matthews, and Hayden Springer), but none had accomplished the feat that Kjettrup did on Sunday.
Kjettrup joins PGA TOUR winner Jake Knapp on the list of champions for the CRMC Championship as the PGA TOUR rookie won the event in 2022. Knapp graduated from PGA TOUR Canada that same season, and following a top 30 finish on the Korn Ferry Tour points list in 2023, earned his way to the PGA TOUR for 2024 where he captured his first TOUR victory in his fifth start.
“I figured it’s good company if you can win this tournament,” said Kjettrup on joining past champion Knapp in winning the CRMC Championship. “It's nice to see a guy like him who played out here on PGA TOUR Americas, like you are in the same footsteps that he was two years ago. That doesn't sound real because he's on the PGA TOUR doing so well, so it sounds almost wrong. Seeing that you can progress so quickly if you play good golf, that's good to see.”
The season-ending, limited-field Fortinet Cup Championship is the final stop of the inaugural season of PGA TOUR Americas. The top 120 players in the Fortinet Cup will compete at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, and look to finalize a spot in the top 80 of the season-long points list to retain membership for the 2025 season. Kjettrup is expected to be in the field.