Pan holds off rivals to win PGA Heritage title

WASHINGTON: Taiwan’s Pan Cheng-tsung held off Americans Matt Kuchar and Patrick Cantlay to win his first US PGA Tour title on Sunday, capturing the Heritage tournament by one stroke.

Pan fired a final-round four-under par 67 at Harbour Town in Hilton Head, South Carolina, to finish 72 holes on 12-under 272 with Kuchar second on 273 and Cantlay, American Scott Piercy and Ireland’s Shane Lowry another stroke adrift.

“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.”

The victory brought Pan, ranked 113th in the world, tour status through the 2020-21 campaign as well as berths in his first Masters next year and his first PGA Championship next month at Bethpage Black.

Pan’s breakthrough came in his 79th tour event after only seven prior top-10 finishes. He had twice been a runner-up, sharing second in 2017 at Torrey Pines and 2018 at Greensboro. Pan, 27, played at the University of Washington and spent eight weeks in 2013 as the world’s top-ranked amateur golfer.

In 2014, Pan won team and individual gold medals at the Incheon Asian Games. He won a back-nine shootout after 54-hole leaders faded early. “I hit four bad shots and I got away with a bogey,” Pan said. “I knew I had to get more birdies coming in to make sure I had the W.” World number one Dustin Johnson led by a stroke when the day began but fired a 77 to share 28th on 280.