Recent PGA Tour University graduate Brendan Valdes Announced on Wednesday he was diagnosed with primary mediastinal lymphoma and will leave the Korn Ferry Tour while he undergoes treatment.
In his Instagram post, Valdes said a mass was discovered in his chest during a medical exam a month ago, and further testing revealed his diagnosis. He recently completed his first round of chemotherapy.
“Although there is a long journey ahead,” he wrote, “my treatments should get me back to full health on the golf course this year.”
Valdes, 22, was part of the Auburn men’s golf team that won the 2024 NCAA championship. Valdes was a three-time All-American in college and earned his 2026 Korn Ferry Tour card through the PGA Tour University Ranking. North Carolina’s David Ford finished atop the leaderboard to earn a 2026 PGA Tour card, and Nos. 2-10 earned Korn Ferry Tour status. Valdes finished second in the rankings.
One of the sport’s promising young talents, Valdes scored four of 11 points on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2025 – his best finish was a T3 at the Price Cutter Charity Championship – and made the point in all three of his PGA Tour starts, highlighted by a T20 at the 3M Open.
In the caption of his Instagram post, Valdes wrote: “As the Terminator once said… I’ll be back.”
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