Carl Yuan Yechun became only the third mainland Chinese golfer to win on the Korn Ferry Tour, after a stunning playoff victory over Peter Uihlein at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open on Sunday. The perfect present for his 25th birthday on Monday, a PGA Tour card is now well within his grasp. Starting the final round five strokes back of overnight leader Uihlein, Yuan fired a closing 6-under 65 at Le Triomphe Golf & Country Club to tie the American on 14-under. Clutch birdie putt in the playoff to secure @CarlYuangolf 's first #KornFerryTour win @LouisianaOpen . 💪🥶 pic.twitter.com/pWqoUW78FX — Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) March 21, 2022 A performance that included seven birdies over the final 18 holes finished with a curling 12ft birdie, delivering the knockout blow on the first playoff hole. “It’s amazing to get my first win out here. It was a tough battle honestly, it wasn’t easy, still a bit unreal,” said Yuan, who rose to No 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour top 25 rankings. “I knew coming into the day, I needed to get hot and make some birdies to have a chance and I did in the middle of the round. Really amazing to get it done this way. Yuan made a crucial par save from the greenside bunker on the last hole to set the clubhouse mark at 14-under which Uihlein matched with his final round 70. Both players hit quality approach shots to about 12ft of the flag in the first sudden-death hole and after Yuan calmly rolled in his birdie putt, Uihlein missed his attempt. “This is definitely special,” Yuan said. “I’ve practiced a putt like this hundreds of times and definitely dreamed about having a putt to win a tournament like this, playoff or on 18. And it happened on my birthday too.” China’s Carl Yuan rides hot start to tie for second at Panama Championship The Chinese golfer is savouring a flying start to his 2022 campaign which includes two other top-three results. With 853 Korn Ferry Tour points next to his name, he is now only 47 points shy of the anticipated 900-points projection to secure his PGA Tour card. A solo-16th place finish in any forthcoming tournament will seal the deal. Yuan could have secured his Tour card last season, but sacrificed that so he could represent his country at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. It is not a decision he regrets, calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime experience”. “I made some sacrifices but I knew my game was getting better and that I could come back this year and get the job done,” Yuan said. “I’m excited to get it done. This year, I had a little more fire coming out. I knew I could get it done. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.” Yuan’s breakthrough in the US extended China’s winning run on the international Tours. Countryman Ashun Wu, who also featured in the Tokyo Olympics, triumphed earlier this month on the DP World Tour by winning the Magical Kenya Open. Yuan believes it could set a trend for the game back home. “Our primary goal is to play on the PGA TOUR, stay there, and win,” he said.
