Tom Lewis earns PGA Tour card with Korn Ferry Tour Championship win
Tuesday 3 September 2019 09:21, UK
Tom Lewis secured his playing privileges on the PGA Tour for next season with victory at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.
The event was the last of three tournaments in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where PGA Tour cards were available to the leading 25 players who did not already have their playing rights confirmed.
Lewis missed the first two events but made the trip to Indiana for his first appearance on the second-tier tour, where a final-round 65 gave him a five-shot victory over nearest challenger Fabian Gomez.
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"I'm chuffed," Lewis said. "A win is a win. Hopefully, I can go on and create more opportunities for myself on the European Tour and out here now."
Lewis was only eligible to play after a tied-11th finish at The Open left him the equivalent of 196th in the FedExCup standings, with those between 126th and 200th allowed to feature in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
The Englishman posted back-to-back 66s on Saturday and Sunday to take a two-shot lead into the final round, where he made a six-footer to save par at the first and holed a long birdie at the third.
A 10-foot gain at the par-three fifth was cancelled out with a bogey at the next, only for Lewis to go inches away from a hole-out eagle at the eighth to set up the first of three consecutive birdies.
PGA Tour Qualifier
Lewis ended a run of pars with a two-putt birdie at the par-five 15th and extended his lead with birdies over his next two holes, before completing his victory with a tap-in par at the last.
Victory saw Lewis finish second in the Finals 25 standings and lifts him to world No 63, with fellow Englishman Ben Taylor and Norway's Viktor Hovland among the other notable players to get their promotion to the PGA Tour.
