Davis Thompson win John Deere Classic, earns Open berth with C.T. Pan

Davis Thompson fired a closing 7 under par 64 to seal his maiden PGA Tour title at the John Deere Classic, in the process earning one of the two invitations available to the Open Championship along with Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan, who finished as a joint runner up on Sunday.

The 32-year-old Pan matched Thompson with a brilliant 7 under 64 of his own at TPC Deere Run in Illinois to enjoy his best finish of the season as Thompson of the US sealed his breakthrough win by four strokes, the PGA Tour said.

The Asian star, who finished on 24-under alongside Michael Thorbjornsen and amateur Luke Clanton, took the second qualifying place thanks to his higher position in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

England's Aaron Rai, who has Indian roots and had contended earlier in the week finished tied for seventh with rounds of 65-63-66-69 and was 21 under, three strokes behind 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.

“Qualifying for The Open was just an added incentive to this,” said the 25-year-old Thompson later. “The goal was to win the golf tournament after getting off to a great start and I was able to finish it off.”

Pan, winner of one tour title, was pleased to earn his fourth Open start at Royal Troon in two weeks’ time. “It's going to be a great trip. Honestly going to 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 three finish of the season – also T3 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta in February – comes at the perfect time as it will also be a confidence booster for the Paris Olympics in early August after winning the bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago.

“You know, The Open is always at the top of my want to do list. I've been there three times. I feel if fits my game, but somehow in the past I haven't played well. Hopefully this trip will be different,” said Pan, who played in The Open in 2014, 2019 and 2021 but missed the cut all three times.

“I knew there are two spots (this week). Honestly, I did not pay too much attention on that. I just know I need to do really well out there today to have a chance,” added 

Pan’s short game was sharp all week where he ranked third in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 18th in putting for the tournament. He made nine birdies on the day with some wonderful ball striking against two bogeys but never quite threatened Davis, who cruised to his career breakthrough.

“Feels great,” said Pan. “You know, even last week I miss the cut by one or two, I still feel great about my game. It's just one of the weeks like everything clicks. Putting, I feel I putt just the same; probably hit it closer last week but miss the cut and this week I made everything. Good week to have.”

There will be some disappointment though for several young golfers from Chinese Taipei who are due to compete in the CT Pan Junior Championship on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit, scheduled in Houston on the same week as The Open.

“I don’t think I'm actually having an event in Houston. Every year we invite like 10 to 12 kids from Taiwan to participate in my AJGA tournament. I might have to say no to those kids and say, you guys are on your own. I'm going to The Open,” he smiled.