LIV Golf continues to replenish its roster with PGA Tour Q-School participants.
Frederik Kjettrup, a 24-year-old Danish product from the state of Florida, has signed with the Saudi-backed league as the newest member of Cleeks GC. The move was first reported by bunkered.co.uk and confirmed by GolfChannel.com.
The signing is expected to be announced by LIV on Friday.
Kjettrup was exempted from the final leg of the PGA Tour Q-School after winning three times this season and finishing second in points on the PGA Tour Americas. However, Kjettrup withdrew ahead of the event, which was contested earlier this month at TPC Sawgrass’s Dye’s Valley Course and nearby Sawgrass Country Club.
South Korean Yubin Jang withdrew from the final stage two days before his first round start time and was later announced as a member of Iron Heads GC.
Kjettrup reached No. 11 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking as an amateur and won twice as a Seminole, including last season’s ACC Championship. In his final college start last May, Kejttrup opened the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa in 84 before rallying with three straight rounds of par or better to help the Seminoles into match play, where they advanced to the championship game before losing to Auburn . .
Turning pro, Kjettrup qualified for the US Open and then turned his focus to Canada, where he won in each of his first two starts and collected a total of five top 10s. His last start in the world rankings came at the DP World Tour’s Irish Open in September. He is currently ranked 241 in the world.
Cleeks’ selection also consists of captain Martin Kaymer, Richard Bland and Adrian Meronk.
Kaymer spoke exclusively to bunkered about Kjettrup.
“Several things attracted us,” Kaymer told the British outlet. “First of all, it’s very difficult to turn pro and win early. I was lucky enough to win quite quickly in my career and I know how difficult it is to get that first win over the line. He backed it up with another win in just a few weeks. I thought that was an incredible achievement for someone who just left school. But we quickly had a good connection with Frederik.
“I believe that next year it will be crucial that we have a well-functioning team in terms of team spirit. Next year all four scores will count. You can’t relax and give up. I felt his attitude was serious. He had a great attitude.” passion for the game. He still has the youth in him, which is inspiring for our team.”
Kaymer added that he believes LIV Golf could have a path to the majors in the future: “What I’ve heard from the league is that it’s looking pretty good. Hopefully next year we’ll have a way to qualify for the majors. We cannot say with certainty that this will happen. But he was fine with that.”
