Taipei’s C.T. Pan secures full PGA Tour status with Mexico finish

Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan played out of his skin with a closing 6 under par 65 to earn a share of third place on Sunday at the Mexico Open by Vidanta and more importantly secured full playing rights for the rest of the 2024 season on the PGA Tour.

Pan (71-67-67-65) battled illness on the final day for his T3 finish alongside Germany’s Stephan Jager and Justin Lower on 14 under par 270, five shots behind maiden US winner Jake Knapp (67-64-63-71, 19 under 265) and three behind runner-up Finland’s Sami Valimaki (64-67-67-69, 17 under 267) at the Vidanta Vallarta course.

Tour rookie Knapp, who took a four-shot lead into the final round, was caught by Valimaki early before cruising to a two-stroke victory. He joined Frenchman Matthieu Pavon and Nick Dunlap as first-time winners and rookies to win in the ongoing season.

“It's pretty amazing. I don't think it's fully sunk in yet. I was super calm last night eating dinner, and going to bed wasn't an issue. Then I kind of woke up early out of nowhere at like 5:30 and was tough going back to sleep. I was more so just excited to get this day going,” the 29-year-old, who has won thrice on the Canadian tour, said later.

Pan, winner of the 2019 RBC Heritage tournament, fired a gutsy 65 in the final round of the $6.10 million event while Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune, who earned a special invitation to the Masters Tournament, came in tied 48th with a 67 while Carl Yuan of China finished T52, the PGA Tour said.

Carding the day’s joint low round was a relief for Pan who needed painkillers to fight off a fever and cough over the weekend. He sank eight birdies against two bogeys to end a run of two missed cuts.

“After a period of low tide, I’m happy to have tied for third and recaptured my full card for 2024. I didn’t feel like I could make anything. I had fever and was coughing, and both days over the weekend, I took painkillers in the morning. After the round, I went back to my room and slept for 12 hours,” Pan said later.

The Taipei golfer started the 2024 season on a medical exemption after being sidelined early last year with a wrist injury and was required to secure 57.8 FedEx Cup points from 13 starts to earn top-125 status. He picked up 145 points in Mexico in his third tournament of the season and can now look forward to an appearance at the Players Championship next month.

Pan, who also played in the 2019 Presidents Cup, produced some magnificent golf to jump up the leaderboard. Playing alongside defending champion Tony Finau, who finished T13, the Asian star opened his birdie account with a 16-foot conversion on the third hole and turned in 33 with three more birdies against two bogeys. His back nine was flawless with four birdies. all from within eight feet.

His new partnership with veteran caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan, who has worked with Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and K.J. Choi, has also began to yield results after missed cuts at the Sony Open in Hawaii and WM Phoenix Open. Pan’s trademark short game was also on full display as he ranked fourth in strokes gained around the green;

“My caddie and I did not give up, we encouraged each other, stayed patient to fight and finally achieved a good result,” said Pan, who finished T29 at Vidanta two years ago.

Pan’s next stop is the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beach starting on Thursday and he will be hoping to recover fully from his ailment and maintain his good form to qualify for the next Signature event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.