Miaoli-born Pan Cheng-tsung (潘政琮) took advantage of Dustin Johnson’s back-nine meltdown on Sunday to win the RBC Heritage for his first PGA Tour victory, and become the first Taiwanese golfer to win a PGA Tour title in 32 years.
The 27-year-old Pan closed with a four-under 67 at Harbour Town Golf Links for a one-stroke victory over Matt Kuchar. Pan finished at 12-under 272.
The top-ranked Johnson, the third-round leader in his home-state event, had a 77 to tie for 28th at four-under.
Photo: AP
He played a five-hole stretch in seven-over, making bogeys on Nos. 11 to 13 and double-bogeys on Nos. 14 to 15.
Pan took the lead for good with a 9-foot birdie putt on the par-four 16th. Kuchar closed with a 67.
Patrick Cantlay, Scott Piercy and Shane Lowry tied for third at 10-under. Cantlay and Piercy shot 69, and Lowry had a 70.
Pan headed to the practice range after the round to keep ready in case of a playoff, then raised his arms in triumph when told he had won.
He earned US$1,242,000, a PGA Tour exemption through 2020-2021 and spots in next month’s PGA Championship and next year’s Masters.
He is the RBC Heritage’s fourth straight first-time winner.
“Dream come true,” Pan said. “It’s something when I was younger I always dreamed of. It just means everything to have a win on the PGA Tour.”
“It means the world to me. I’m really happy I finally did it,” he said. “That’s why I came to the US, that’s why I came to college to go through a lot of necessary steps to be here. I’m just very, very happy that I finally did it.”
Pan’s breakthrough came in his 79th tour event after only seven prior top-10 finishes.
“It’s still really hard for me to believe,” said Pan, who had won twice on the PGA Tour Canada in 2015 and finished second twice in PGA Tour events, including last year’s Wyndham Championship.
He played at the University of Washington and spent eight weeks in 2013 as the world’s top-ranked amateur golfer.
In 2014, he won team and individual gold medals at the Incheon Asian Games.
Pan attributed his success largely to his late father, who encouraged him to get into the sport.
“He told us that he believed this sport has a really good potential in the future,” Pan said.
“And obviously I didn’t know anything back then. And my dad would tell me: ‘Hey, I want you one day to do that for me,’” Pan said. “And dad, finally, we’ve done it.”
The Central News Agency cited Pan as saying in an 2016 interview that playing golf was a dream he and his father, a caddy who died in 2010, had shared.
They often talked about competing in amateur golf tournaments, the Asian Games and PGA Tours, he told the agency.
“Thanks to my father, I got to play golf... I know that he will always watch over me and I have to work hard to keep all the promises I made to him,” CNA quoted Pan as saying.
Additional reporting by CNA
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS