Twelve Aspiring Pros Compete for $50,000+ in Prizes While Gaining Data-Driven Development Insights and Guaranteed Paychecks in Upcoming Docuseries
RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Player Development Solutions, in conjunction with Monday Q Info, today announced the inaugural Player Development Index (PDI) Professional Golf Combine. The multi-day event will take place later this month, bringing together 12 men and women who will compete for over $50,000 in prize money while gaining valuable, data-driven insights through PDI.
The project was born when Ryan French, the personality behind Monday Q Info, sought a meaningful new opportunity for players affected by the cancelled Big Break season, offering them a path to career-changing prizes and exposure. At the same time, Roger Knick, founder of PDI and the Golf Performance Center (GPC), was looking for the right moment to deepen his involvement in professional golf. Together, they created the PDI Professional Golf Combine. The inaugural event features players representing the ANNIKA Foundation, the APGA, the NXXT Women’s Pro Tour, and more. Each participant will receive an appearance fee, delivering a much-needed guaranteed paycheck.
“We are absolutely thrilled to host this incredibly talented group of players,” says Knick. “Our mission has always been to support athletes in reaching their full potential, and this Combine gives them a meaningful, objective tool to map out their development and pursue their dream of competing at the highest levels of the sport. This is not just a week’s worth of help. It’s designed to shape their long-term development. We are excited about what the Combine can do for these players and many more in the future.”
By leveraging PDI, the Combine will give athletes a comprehensive, data-driven environment to showcase their skills, benchmark their physical and technical abilities, and connect with potential sponsors and financial backers.
The entire experience will be professionally filmed and produced as a multi-episode docuseries. Focused on authentic storytelling with no manufactured drama and zero eliminations, the series will capture the gritty reality and daily grind of aspiring professional golfers while introducing players to a valuable tool that can guide development.
In addition to completing a full PDI assessment, each player will take part in a series of challenges that test every aspect of their game. Each challenge will carry its own prize purse, and performance across these challenges will play a major role in determining the overall Combine winner. The individual challenges also create strong opportunities for companies to sponsor specific segments and integrate into the episodes.
This opportunity is made possible by PDI, the PDI Athlete Team, Monday Q Info, Dunning Golf, Golfjoy, and other partners. Additional sponsors are still welcome and can help increase the financial support available to each player while gaining exposure in front of a highly engaged golf audience.
Full broadcast and coverage details for the Combine will be announced soon.
Combine Participants
Jensen Castle
2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion
Jonathan Yoshihiro
Back-to-back APGA Mastercard Tour Championship winner
Peter Lansburgh
Qualified for the 2023 Valero Texas Open and holds eight course records
Velten Meyer
Winner of the 2022 Vierumäki Finnish Challenge and the 2026 Pro Golf Tour Océan in Agadir, Morocco
Fletcher Babcock
Champion of the 2021 Connecticut PGA Open, 2025 Rhode Island Open and 2026 Maine Open
Jesse Rouse
Advanced through 2026 PGA TOUR Q-School Pre-Qualifying last week and earned All-GAC honorable mention in 2024 and 2025
Mike Sweeney
22-time winner on the Minor League Golf Tour who also maintains a rapping career
Nick Bienz
Qualified for the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic after an eight-hole playoff and is a two-time Indiana Open Champion (2023, 2025)
Noelle Maertz
NXXT Women’s Pro Golf Tour representative, First Team All-NEC and NEC Golfer of the Year
Logan Batiste
APGA Tour representative and founder of Growin Greens
The event brings together top-tier aspiring professionals with industry leaders and advocates who understand the financial and developmental hurdles of professional golf.
“It is incredibly meaningful to be part of a project like this,” adds French, an advocate for developmental tour players. “Every week I see players with world-class talent fighting just to keep their careers alive because of limited resources. This Combine gives them a real chance to develop their games and, just as importantly, opens the door for sponsors and supporters to step in and help fund the next generation of talent.”
The Combine directly addresses one of the biggest gaps in professional golf: the difficult transition from elite amateur or mini-tour player to a fully funded touring professional.
ABOUT PLAYER DEVELOPMENT INDEX (PDI)
Player Development Index (PDI) is a comprehensive platform dedicated to enhancing golf performance through objective assessments. By providing coaches and players with detailed evaluations, PDI facilitates targeted training strategies, promotes measurable improvement, and supports the overall development of golfers at every level. Discover more at golfpdi.com.
ABOUT MONDAY Q INFO
Monday Q Info was founded by Ryan French and grew from a relentless Twitter feed into a full editorial home for golf’s grinders: Monday qualifiers, developmental tours, overlooked careers, and the people who live inside the sport’s thinnest margins.
Sponsorship Contacts: This project can support all levels of interest from sponsors. Please reach out to nathaniel@juniorgolfhub.com for more details about the sponsor benefit inventory.
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