After winner Daniel Berger, the leaderboard at the last PGA Tour event carried a eye-popping entry just a few spots down.
Braden Thornberry, an amateur who just finished his sophomore year at the University of Mississippi, was tied for fourth last weekend in the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tennessee, just two strokes out of the lead.
He was that close to a chance to win a PGA Tour event as an amateur, a feat last performed in 1991 by somebody named Phil Mickelson.
Earlier in the week, Thornberry won the Fred Haskins Award, given to the college golfer of the year, as voted by players, coaches and media. Since 2012, the Haskins Award winner has received a sponsor's exemption into the Greenbrier Classic.
On Monday, Ole Miss coach Chris Malloy enthusiastically confirmed Thornberry's acceptance.
Thornberry, a native of nearby Olive Branch, Mississippi, shot a bogey-free, 5-under par 65 to finish at 8-under. In the Tour's ultra-complex metrics, he gained three-plus strokes on the field with his putting, hitting a 45-footer. He did not three-putt the entire 72 holes.
Even without that finish, Thornberry will bring some extra nice credentials with him.
You could skip right to his individual NCAA national championship, won by four shots at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois. He also won four other tournaments and held the nation's best stroke average (69.57).
"The kid's the real deal, for sure," Malloy said. "His short game is as good as I've ever seen, and I think it's something that everyone who will see him for the first time in West Virginia will be overly impressed with.
Later, he added, "People are going to fall in love with the guy. He's the most likable young man as you'll ever be around."
He joins an impressive list of future pros, beginning with Ben Crenshaw in 1971-73. Other winners include Curtis Strange, Jay Haas, Mickelson, David Duval, Justin Leonard, Stewart Cink, Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar, Luke Donald, Graham McDowell, Bill Haas and Justin Thomas.
Thomas was the first just-crowned Haskins winner to play at the Greenbrier. He finished tied for 46th, but he has done extremely well since - with three of his four Tour wins this season, he is ranked second in the FedExCup point standings and 13th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Thomas returned to the Greenbrier in 2015, leading after eight holes on the final day. But he went 8-over the rest of the way and finished 54th.
The other three newly minted Haskins honorees who have played at the Old White TPC also made the cut: Michael Kim (2013, T-38th), Patrick Rodgers (2014, T-45th) and Maverick McNealy (2015, T-60th).
Kim and Rodgers are in their second and third years on the big tour, respectively. McNealy remains second in the world amateur rankings after finishing his Stanford career.
University of Texas star Beau Hossler won the Haskins in 2016, but could not have competed in the flood-canceled Classic because of injury. Hossler has played seven Tour events this season as a non-member.