In nearly six years as a pro, Jorge Garcia has never played a Korn Ferry Tour event. The only PGA Tour start he’s logged came at the 2013 Puerto Rico Classic, when he was a hotshot 17-year-old from Venezuela with a big dream. He’s not just ranked No. 2,103 in the world rankings; he’s never cracked the top 1,500.
And yet, Garcia, 29, is four rounds away from life-changing status.
Garcia’s journey to this week’s final stage of PGA Tour Q-School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where the top five finishers in the 176-player field will earn fully exempt membership on the PGA Tour for 2026, is one of resilience.
“I’ve been fighting for this for a really long time,” said Garcia, who was born in Anaco, Venezuela, about 100 miles southeast of Caracas.
Like eventual PGA Tour winner Jhonattan Vegas before him, Garcia was a burgeoning golf talent whose young career was disrupted after his home course was shuttered by the Chavez government. Nine years old at the time, Garcia spent the next few years hitting balls wherever he could. Then came his lifeline: Garcia’s parents sent him to Miami, where he’d live with an aunt and attend the nearby Jim McLean Golf School at Doral.
Garcia excelled in South Florida, starring at American Heritage School and on the national junior circuit. He was a two-time, first-team AJGA Rolex Junior All-American, and he led Venezuela to victory at the 2013 Toyota Junior World Cup, where a young Scottie Scheffler represented the American squad. When he signed with the University of Florida, Garcia was a top-5 recruit and part of a loaded Gators’ 2015 class that included Sam Horsfield, Gordon Neale, Kyler Tate and Blake Dyer.
LA ROMANA, DOMINICAN REPULIC - JANUARY 17: Jorge Garcia from Venezuela swings at hole 1 during Final Day of 2016 Latin America Amateur Championship at Teeth of the Dog, Casa de Campo in La Romana, Dominican Republic on January 17, 2016. (Photo by Santiago Vidal/LatinContent via Getty Images)
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But Garcia’s lack of length – his nickname is “Pichu,” Spanish for “little one” – eventually caught up with him. He posted seven top-25s as a freshman and finished runner-up at the Latin America Amateur in 2016, then nosedived after a solid sophomore fall. Halfway through his junior campaign, Garcia opted to transfer to Barry, a prestigious D-II program in Miami Shores.
“Being from Venezuela, I’m very grateful for all the opportunities that I’ve had to play and compete in this game,” Garcia said. “Obviously, going to one of the biggest schools in the country in Florida, the facilities and the opportunities you get are amazing. But my personal experience, I feel like I stalled a little bit there. … I didn’t feel like I was getting much better.”
Garcia could’ve found another D-I home, but he wanted to rediscover his game in the comforts of a place where he knew he could get better – and he did, twice finishing runner-up at the NCAA Championship and capturing the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top player in D-II as a senior.
“That last year and a half, I found a lot of good stuff, and I got back to playing really good golf,” said Garcia, who advanced to final stage of 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Q-School right out of college, though failed to earn status.
This week marks Garcia’s first final stage in six years, on either side of the pond. He’s missed at second stage by a single shot on three different occasions, once in the U.S. (2022) and twice at DP World Tour Q-School (2024 and 2025). That close-call three years ago especially hurt considering Garcia was playing arguably the best golf of his life and had won first stage by five shots.
Relegated to mini-tours, Garcia took up several odd jobs to fund his journey, including caddying and as muscle for an international moving company that his wife, Nicole, worked for; Garcia took a few shifts per month for about two years. He also coaches a few junior players, including a 16-year-old girl in Venezuela who hopes to play collegiately.
“Spending the past four summers in Pinehurst for U.S. Kids [World Championships], that’s where I started,” Garcia said, “so it’s definitely given me a different perspective and shown me just how far I’ve come. It’s been a long road.”
Pivotal for Garcia was three sponsor exemptions he received on the Gira de Golf Professional Mexicana, a tour in Mexico that features $100,000 purses and pro-ams while sometimes attracting Korn Ferry Tour pros on off weeks. Garcia missed all three cuts, but he returned in Summer 2024 a much-improved ball-striker, thanks to work with coach Juan Pina, and won the Q-School. He’s since registered eight top-25 finishes and just one missed cut in 10 starts. His best finish, a T-5, came back in September.
Part of Garcia’s reasoning for playing the Mexican tour is to simulate the high-level tours – no carts, caddies, long pants, etc. – so that he’s ready when his opportunity finally comes. No, the dream is not done yet.
“I haven’t had all the success as a pro like I did in junior golf, but one of things I love about golf is the grind and learning how to get better and trying new things and always finding a way,” Garcia said. “I think it’s just in my D.N.A. to go out there and try again the next day.”
