SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Braden Thornberry is unfortunately no stranger to the pressure of the moment. Just last year, he had to finish at least second to earn his PGA Tour card at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, an event he went on to win.

This year, he once again finds himself in a position of having to grind out a season’s end just to retain his status. Thornberry entered the 2025 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at 178th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings. With only two events left and a lot of points needed to keep his PGA Tour card, the 2017 NCAA individual champion likely needs a win or pair of second-place finishes to have a chance at getting into the top 100.

“Yeah, I think a lot of guys that are out here for eight to 10 years, they can maybe be uncomfortable with the thought of losing their card, but when you’re on the Korn Ferry, every year you feel like you’re always in that mix of losing your card or one win away from getting your PGA Tour card,” Thornberry said. “So I feel like that probably is a slight advantage for people that are in my position right now that there’s always those lines you’re going for, right? A good week to maybe get in the top 150 or a great week to get in the top 100.

After two rounds at Port Royal Golf Course, Thornberry’s approach has led him to excellent golf. He shot 6-under 65 on Friday and sits tied for second at 10 under, one behind leader Adam Hadwin and tied with Chandler Phillips. He has only one bogey through 36 holes, coming on the par-3 eighth this morning, the 17th hole of his first round.

On a week where the pressure was the highest for him this season, he’s once again finding a way to grind out a chance at retaining his card.

“I feel like I’m very used to that type of pressure where a good week would go a long way,” he said. “So really just trying to take one day at a time, but my game feels good and hopefully can do something these next couple weeks.”

After winning NCAAs, the projections for what many thought Thornberry’s career would look like shot through the roof. Many thought he would win multiple PGA Tour events and even some majors.

Instead, in his first season with a PGA Tour card, he has made only seven cuts in 24 events and is on the precipice of returning to the Korn Ferry Tour, where he played four years, with some time on other tours in between, before finally breaking through in 2024.

“It’s a tough thing because I am on the PGA Tour, so there’s positives there,” Thornberry said. “Obviously not the career I’d like to have had. Like a lot of my friends, like (Collin) Morikawa and like (Viktor) Hovland, some of those people have won majors, won a lot of events out here. But I try to always remind myself that not every path is the same. I might win this week and then go win a couple next year, you just never know. So I just try to keep my head down and do all the right things and see where it takes me.”

Comparison is the thief of joy, and Thornberry is having plenty of fun this week.

His lone bogey is tied for the fewest in the field, and he’s in the best position he has ever been in through 36 holes. His old mark was three weeks ago, when Thornberry was T-10 after two rounds in Utah.

Who knows what will come this weekend in Bermuda? Thornberry won’t be uncomfortable if the wind blows, but with everything he has dealt with through his career and the adversity to be where he is today, don’t expect him to wilt under the circumstances.

“I feel if I can get there on Sunday and be in contention, I feel like I’ve done that a lot,” Thornberry said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll play amazing, but I do feel like I’m comfortable and I’ve done it before. So that’s always a good feeling to have in the back of your head.”

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Braden Thornberry eyes Bermuda breakthrough to keep PGA Tour card