Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan earned one of two coveted tickets to The Open Championship on Sunday after finishing runner-up at the John Deere Classic.
The 32-year-old Pan hit a brilliant 7-under 64 in the final round at TPC Deere Run in Illinois to enjoy his best finish of the season as American Davis Thompson sealed his maiden PGA TOUR title by four strokes following a 64.
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Korea’s Sungjae Im finished tied 12th after a 64 while Pan’s compatriot Kevin Yu earned a share of 20th place following a 67.
Pan, who holds one PGA TOUR title, was ecstatic to earn his fourth Open start at Royal Troon in two weeks’ time. “It’s going to be a great trip. Honestly going to be hectic to arrange all the travel details last minute, but it will be a good problem to have, and my wife and I will be looking forward to our trip there,” he said.
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His second top-3 finish of the season – Pan was T3 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta in February – comes at the perfect time as it propelled him to 83rd position on the latest FedExCup standings, up from 116th. The top-70 qualify for the Playoffs next month following the conclusion of the Regular Season. More importantly, his return to top form will be a confidence booster as Pan prepares to tee up at the Paris Olympics in early August after winning the bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago
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“You know, The Open is always on the top list of my want to do list. I’ve been there three. I feel if fits my game, but somehow in the past I haven’t played well. Hopefully this trip will be different,” said Pan, who played in The Open in 2014, 2019 and 2021 but missed the cut on all three occasions.
“I knew there are two spots (this week). Honestly, I did not pay too much attention on that. I just know I need to do really well out there today to have a chance,” added the Asian star, who finished on 24-under alongside Michael Thorbjornsen and amateur Luke Clanton, and took the second qualifying place thanks to his higher position in the Official World Golf Ranking.
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Pan’s short game was sharp all week where he ranked third in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 18th in putting for the tournament. He brilliantly made nine birdies on the card with some wonderful ball striking against two bogeys but never quite threatened Davis, who cruised to his career breakthrough.
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“Feels great,” said Pan. “You know, even last week I miss the cut by one or two, I still feel great about my game. It’s just one of the weeks like everything clicks. Putting, I feel I putt just the same; probably hit it closer last week but miss the cut and this week I made everything. Good week to have.”
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There will be some disappointment though for several young golfers from Chinese Taipei who are due to compete in the CT Pan Junior Championship on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit, scheduled in Houston on the same week as The Open.
“I think I’m actually not having any AJGA event in Houston. Every year we invite like 10 to 12 kids from Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) to participate in my AJGA touranment. I might have to say no to those kids and say, you guys are on your own. I’m going to The Open,” he smiled.
