Tom Lewis earns PGA Tour card with win at Korn Ferry Tour Championship
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Tom Lewis is one of 25 players to secure their PGA Tour card as he wins Korn Ferry Tour Championship by five strokes
Tom Lewis is headed to the PGA Tour for the first time after winning the Korn Ferry Tour Championship on Monday, and joins 24 other players in earning 2019-20 membership through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
Lewis, who led by two shots after the third round, carded a seven-under-par 65 on Monday to win by five shots over Fabian Gomez at Victoria National Golf Club.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play on the PGA TOUR,” said Lewis, who is a two-time European Tour winner.
“Obviously I’ve achieved some good things on the European Tour and hopefully I can achieve better things on the PGA TOUR. I’m looking forward to the year I’ve got ahead, just to see what the future brings.”
The Englishman, who finished on 23-under, held on to a two shot lead over a chasing Gomez with four birdies and a bogey on his front nine but pulled ahead in dominant fashion over the closing stretch.
Lewis, 28, birdie the 10th hole before a trio of gains from the 15th to 17th as Gomez made back-to-back bogeys on 15 and 16. It gave Lewis a comfortable lead, and despite following it up with birdies on his final two holes, Gomez still came up five shots short. The silver lining, however, is earning his Tour card for next year.
Kramer Hickok finished Monday with a 65— tied with Lewis for best score of the day— to take solo third at 16 under.
Griffin, who started the day two shots back, was 1 over for the day as he approached the ninth hole, but looked like he could regain some of lost ground after he recorded an eagle on the par-5 9th to jump to fourth through nine holes. Griffin tumbled even further on the back nine, carding a triple bogey, double bogey, bogey and two birdies to finish T-7 at 12 under.
With a lot on the line, several other players provided dramatic finishes coming down to the final putt. Local Chris Baker, who grew up in Brownstown, Indiana and was the first and second round leader, saved par on the 72nd hole to earn his first PGA TOUR card after more than a decade as a professional. The par save came after a double bogey at the penultimate hole to put his status in doubt. Doug Ghim, the low amateur at the 2018 Masters Tournament, got up and down out of a greenside bunker to claim his first PGA TOUR card.
D.J. Trahan and Richy Werenski tied for the 24th spot, securing the final available cards with 186 points in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Justin Harding finished 26th in The Finals 25, just 0.125 points behind Trahan and Werenski.
Four of the 25 players who secured their PGA TOUR cards solely through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals will be rookies during the 2019-20 season, including rising star and former US Amateur Champion Viktor Hovland.
They join the 25 players who earned their Tour cards from the Regular Season points list on the PGA TOUR, led by Scottie Scheffler.
The Final 25
Find out which golfers earned their 2019-20 PGA Tour cards by finishing inside the top 25 of the points list accumulated during the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
1. Matthew NeSmith
2. Tom Lewis
3. Brandon Hagy
4. Kramer Hickok
5. Fabián Gómez Chaco
6. Viktor Hovland
7. Brendon Todd
8. Beau Hossler
9. Ben Taylor
10. Anirban Lahiri
11. Grayson Murray
12. Tyler Duncan
13. David Hearn
14. Bronson Burgoon
15. Chris Baker
16. Robert Streb
17. Tom Hoge
18. Cameron Percy
19. Hank Lebioda
20. Rob Oppenheim
21. Cameron Davis
22. Joseph Bramlett
23. Doug Ghim
T-24. D.J. Trahan
T-24. Richy Werenski
