Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

RBC Heritage 2019: C.T. Pan Bests Matt Kuchar for 1st PGA Win

Joseph Zucker

C.T. Pan earned the first PGA Tour victory of his career Sunday, winning the 2019 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Pan finished the tournament at 12 under, one shot better than Matt Kuchar. Patrick Cantlay, Scott Piercy and Shane Lowry tied for third at 10 under.

Here's a look at the top 10 finishers, with the full leaderboard available on PGATour.com:

       

RBC Heritage Leaderboard

1. C.T. Pan (-12)

2. Matt Kuchar (-11)

T3. Patrick Cantlay (-10)

T3. Scott Piercy (-10)

T3. Shane Lowry (-10)

T6. J.T. Poston (-9)

T6. Seamus Power (-9)

T6. Kevin Streelman (-9)

9. Sam Burns (-8)

T10. Kevin Na (-7)

T10. Troy Merritt (-7)

T10. Michael Thompson (-7)

T10. K.J. Choi (-7)

T10. Rory Sabbatini (-7)

T10. Ian Poulter (-7)

        

Entering Sunday, Pan had just five top-10 finishes in 78 PGA Tour events. Only twice had he finished runner-up. Despite his relative lack of experience fighting for a win on the final day, nerves didn't appear to be an issue for the 27-year-old.

Pan had one bogey Sunday and was fully composed as he headed for the final stretch. He didn't try for too much on No. 18, getting his second-shot approach onto the green to set up a birdie putt. With a little over 18 feet to the cup, Pan's putt lipped, leaving him with a tap-in for par.

His four-under 67 was tied for the second-lowest score of the round. Putting was one of Pan's strengths throughout the event. According to PGATour.com, he was fifth in strokes gained: putting (6.299) and second in putts per green in regulation (1.524).

Kuchar teed off earlier in the day, so Pan knew 12 under was enough to fend off the No. 1 golfer in the FedEx Cup standings. Cantlay, Piercy and Lowry were all a different story. Since they teed off in the final two groups, Pan could only watch as they wrapped up their rounds.

Cantlay had pars on 16 and 17 before bogeying 18. A bogey on 16 proved costly for Piercy, as even a birdie on 17 provided little help toward catching Pan. Lowry couldn't make up any ground either, finishing with four straight pars.

The Washington Post's Gene Wang noted how Sunday's triumph was part of a long journey for Pan:

Dustin Johnson was the leader through 54 holes, holding a one-shot edge over Lowry, Ian Poulter and Rory Sabbatini at 10 under. The 2016 U.S. Open champion imploded on the back nine Sunday to see his title hopes quickly evaporate.

Johnson made the turn at even par and was thus still in the thick of things. Then he lost seven shots between the 11th and 15th holes, with back-to-back double bogeys on 14 and 15.

At four under, Johnson tied for 28th.

Following a nondescript start, Xander Schauffele went a combined six over in the final two rounds. He tied for 63rd at five over.

Jordan Spieth played himself into contention with a five-under 66 in the second round but quickly fell off. He wrapped up the RBC Heritage with a four-over 75 round and tied for 54th (two over).

Tommy Fleetwood could never find a groove at Harbour Town. He was one-under in the final round to end up at five under for the tournament. Fleetwood followed up a 36th-place showing in the Masters with a 25th-place effort in the RBC Heritage.

With the RBC Heritage in the books, the PGA Tour heads to TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana, for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The tournament will offer a nice change of pace since this is the third year the Zurich Classic uses the team format.

Piercy and Billy Horschel enter as the defending champions.

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)