Silvis (US), July 8 (IANS): Chinese Taipei's C T Pan earned one of two coveted tickets to The Open Championship after finishing runner-up at the John Deere Classic.
The 32-year-old Pan shot a brilliant 7-under 64 in the final round at TPC Deere Run in Illinois to enjoy his best finish of the season even as American Davis Thompson sealed his maiden PGA Tour title by four strokes following a 64.
England's Aaron Rai, whose roots go back to India, and contended earlier in the week finished T-7 with rounds of 65-63-66-69 and was 21-under and three behind the winner, Thompson.
Korea’s Sungjae Im finished tied 12th after a 64 while Pan’s compatriot Kevin Yu earned a share of 20th place following a 67.
Pan, who holds one PGA Tour title, was ecstatic to earn his fourth Open start at Royal Troon in two weeks' time. "It's going to be a great trip. Honestly, it will be hectic to arrange all the travel details last minute, but it will be a good problem to have, and my wife and I will be looking forward to our trip there," he said.
His second top-3 finish of the season came after Pan was T3 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta in February. He also moved to 83rd position on the latest FedExCup standings, up from 116th. The top-70 qualify for the Playoffs next month following the conclusion of the Regular Season.
More importantly, his return to top form will be a confidence booster as Pan prepares to tee up at the Paris Olympics in early August after winning the bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago
Alongside Pan, the other two in Tied second were the 24-under alongside Michael Thorbjornsen and amateur Luke Clanton.