Brendan Valdes Pauses Korn Ferry Tour Season After Cancer Diagnosis
Brendan Valdes has vowed to be back playing on the Korn Ferry Tour again later this year after stepping away from the game to undergo treatment for cancer
Brendan Valdes has put his first full season on the Korn Ferry Tour on hold after being diagnosed with cancer.
The 22-year-old has posted on social media to reveal he has already started chemotherapy after being diagnosed with primary mediastinal lymphoma in his chest.
The Auburn standout in college turned pro in June last year after finishing second on the PGA Tour University, and played well enough to earn a full Korn Ferry Tour card for 2026.
Although he acknowledges that a "long journey lies ahead" for him as he continues his treatment, Valdes vowed to be "back on the golf course and completely healthy this year.”
"As the Terminator once said… I’ll be back," was how Valdes captioned his post on Instagram, showing that he's determined to fight his way back to golf.
“Life, like golf, is often unpredictable,” wrote Valdes, who explained that a mass was discovered in his chest during a medical exam, which was later found to be cancer.
Valdes thanked the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour for their support, and also explaining how his return to golf will go.
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And it's that return to competitive golf that's foremost in his mind as he's highly motivated to get back out on the golf course as quickly as possible.
“I have recently completed my first round of chemotherapy," he added. "And while a long journey lies ahead, my treatments should have me back on the golf course and completely healthy this year.”
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Valdes helped Auburn to the 2024 NCAA Championship and was a three-time All American during a brilliant spell with the Tigers.
He holds a number of Auburn records for the likes of birdies, top 10s and subpar rounds, while his scoring average of 70.61 is second only to Jackson Koivun in school history.
Valdes finished second in the PGA Tour University standings in 2025 before turning pro and playing a combination of Korn Ferry and PGA Tour events.
Although he only made four cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour he made three on the PGA Tour including a T20 at the 3M Open to earn enough combined points to win a KFT card for this year.
Valdes will hopefully be able to play at some point in 2026 - he certainly seems to up for the fight to get back out on the course.
Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.
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