Top 10s for Lowry and Power as CT Pan clinches dream win
CT Pan was on the range when he learned Shane Lowry had failed to make eagle at the 18th to force a playoff.
Chinese Taipei’s CT Pan clinched a dream victory in the RBC Heritage as a disappointed Shane Lowry made an effort to draw positives from his tie for third and Seamus Power took a big step towards retaining his PGA Tour card with a top-10 finish.
Just a shot behind world number one Dustin Johnson starting the day, Lowry closed with a one-under 70 to finish tied with Patrick Cantlay and Scott Piercy on 10-under par at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
He was disappointed to end up two shots behind 27-year old Pan, who shot a four-under 67 to win his maiden PGA Tour title by one stroke from Matt Kuchar, who shot 67, on 12-under par
But after struggling for form since his Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship win in January, he could take heart from a week that moves him up seven spots to 43rd in the world and can only give him momentum heading into the US PGA and the US Open..
“I personally feel like it almost got away,” said Lowry, who needed to hole his 180- yard approach to the 18th for eagle to force a playoff with Pan but made par instead and now teams up with Pádraig Harrington in this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
"I'm a little bit disappointed right now but this was my best week in quite a while, so there are many positives to take from this week. After coming so close, it's hard to describe what it's like, but I'm sure I'll get over it and move on to next week.
“It’s the best I've hit the ball in a while. I've already won this year, so this is my ninth tournament and I’ve had another great chance to win, so I suppose I'm doing things right. Like I said, I'm looking forward to next week and the rest of the season."
Undoubtedly aware that a win would have catapulted him to 28th in the world and into The Open and next year’s Masters, his disappointment was palpable,
He briefly moved two shots clear by following a birdie at the second with clutch par putts from six and eight feet at the third and fourth and back to back birdies at the fifth and sixth.
But it was tight at the top in a 20 mph breeze and Lowry’s problems began in earnest when he ended up between clubs at the ninth, spun his approach off the front of the green and after chipping up to three feet past, wafted his par putt wide of the cup.
However, the real body blow came when he double bogeyed the 12th, taking four to get down from 35 yards left of the green.
While he fought back with a birdie from 30 feet at the par-three 14th, he couldn’t find birdies down the tough finishing stretch and had to settle for a cheque for $358,800, his first top-10 finish since his Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship win in January and a move to 125th in the FedExCup standings.
It was an even more disappointing day for overnight leader Johnson, who slipped to a disappointing 77, dropping seven shots in a nightmare five-hole stretch from the 11th before making birdie at the 18th to finish tied 28th on four-under as playing partner Ian Poulter shot 73 to finish tied 10th on seven-under.
None of this mattered to Pan, who didn’t speak English when he moved to the US and attended IMG Academy in Florida.
“Watching Tiger play growing up, it just means a lot to me to have a win on the PGA Tour. It means everything to me."o have a W on the PGA Tour, it means everything,” said Pan, who will join his boyhood hero Woods at Augusta National next year. “That’s why I came to the US and went to college. Dream come true."
He was two shots clear with four to play but after taking six at the par-five 15th, he birdied the 15th and finished with two gutsy pars to claim the $1,242,000 winner’s cheque, getting up and down from sand for par at the 16th before hitting a glorious 180-yard approach to 18 feet at the last, where he lipped out for birdie.
As for Power, who was ranked a lowly 189th in the FedExCup standings after missing 11 of his first 15 cuts this season, the 32-year old from West Waterford was thrilled to close with a four-under 67 and finish tied sixth on nine-under.
Projected to move up to 141st in the FedExCup standings — one place ahead of the struggling Jordan Spieth — and with the top 125 at the end of the season keeping their cards, he’s hoping this week will prove a stepping stone to greater things.
“I didn’t make to many mistakes and my short game was pretty good all week,” Power said after his first individual top-10 finish for 13 months earned him $231,150.
“I made one bogey on one of the easier holes, which was disappointing but overall it was a tricky day so I can’t complain too much.”
Out in one-under par after following birdies at the second and fifth with a bogey at the ninth, he birdied the 13th and 15th before holing out from 60 feet from off the green for his fifth birdie of the day at the 16th.
“I can take a lot from this,” said Power, who missed seven cuts in a row either side of Christmas. “The last four or five tournaments have been much, much better. I started to find something at The Players (tied 35th) and it’s been encouraging.
“A week like this is great. It gets me kickstarted. I’m obviously not where I want to be but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Graeme McDowell, the 2013 champion at Harbour Town Golf Links, had an expensive finish when he three-putted the 18th from just 12 feet for a double-bogey six and signed for a two-over 73 that left him joint 48th on one-over par.
McDowell teams up with Henrik Stenson in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this week where Power will be looking forward to another good week alongside David Hearn in an event where they finished tied fifth last year.
