By Tony Webeck

New South Welshmen Brett Drewitt and Blake Windred have taken significant steps toward promotions to golf’s two largest tours in 2022 after top-five finishes on their respective tours over the weekend.

As the golf world was enraptured by an enthralling final day at the US Open, Drewitt was putting himself in contention for a second Korn Ferry Tour title at the Wichita Open and a move deep inside the top 25 in the Order of Merit.

Thrust into the top five on the back of an 8-under par round of 62 on Saturday, Drewitt was treading water with nine straight pars to start his final round before making his charge early in the back nine.

He birdied the 10th and 11th holes and when he eagled the par-5 14th was just one shot off the lead.

The birdies he needed to rise to the top of the leaderboard proved elusive over the final four holes as he closed with a 4-under 66 to take a share of third, two shots back of Englishman Harry Hall.

A winner at the Lincoln Land Championship last September, Drewitt’s top-five finish moves him up six spots to 23rd on the Korn Ferry Tour moneylist and within reach of one of the 25 PGA TOUR cards to be handed out at the end of the regular season.

Rhein Gibson was the only other Australian to make the cut at Crestview Country Club, moving up 14 spots to a tie for 13th courtesy of a final round of 5-under 65.

Like Drewitt, Windred has greatly enhanced his chances of playing on the European Tour next year with a runner-up finish at the Challenge de España on the Challenge Tour.

Tied for second at the ISUZU Queensland Open in March, Windred held a share of the 36-hole lead in Cadiz but dropped into a share of fifth following a third round of 2-under 70.

Starting the final round three shots off the lead, Windred made birdies at four of his first five holes but bogeys at three and six prevented him from a making a greater impression on the front-runners early.

Five pars in succession were followed by a run of three straight birdies from the 12th hole, his eighth birdie of the day at the par-4 17th leaving him one shot shy of the winner, Spain’s Santiago Tarrio.

Top-20 the week prior, Windred’s second placing moves him up 44 places on the Road to Mallorca points race to 24th, the top 20 at season’s end earning a European Tour card for the 2022 season.

Su Oh was in contention to record her first LPGA Tour win at the halfway mark of the Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan but struggled to keep up with the hot pace over the weekend.

A third round of 3-under 69 saw Oh fall into a share of fourth with a round to play, her closing 1-under 71 resulting in a tie for 15th, her best result of the 2021 season.

Europe’s Legends Tour kicked off its 2021 season at the Farmfoods European Legends Links Championship where Kiwi Michael Long and Peter Fowler both finished inside the top 20.

Results

US Open

Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Cse), San Diego, California

Winner Jon Rahm           69-70-72-67—278           $US2.25m

T35        Adam Scott        70-75-71-73—289           $65,416

T40        Wade Ormsby   72-74-73-71—290           $52,074

64          Marc Leishman 74-70-75-77—296           $25,907

T65        Matt Jones         72-71-79-75—297           $25,907

MC        Cameron Smith 72-75—147

MC        Brad Kennedy    74-78—152

MC        Steve Allan         80-79—15

Korn Ferry Tour

Wichita Open

Crestview Country Club, Wichita, Kansas

Winner     Harry Hall         64-63-66-67—260         $US108,000

T3        Brett Drewitt    69-65-62-66—262         $31,500

T13      Rhein Gibson    68-67-66-65—266         $10,550

MC       Steven Alker     67-71—138

MC       Jamie Arnold     67-73—140

MC       Harrison Endycott         69-71—140

MC       Nick Voke         72-73—145

MC       Brett Coletta     77-74—151

Challenge Tour

Challenge de España

Iberostar Real Club de Golf Novo Sancti Petri, Cadiz, Spain

Winner Santiago Tarrio 71-64-67-66—268         €32,000

T2        Blake Windred  68-65-70-66—269         €16,000

T9        Daniel Hillier     66-68-70-68—272         €4,250

T36      Dimitrios Papadatos      69-70-72-69—280         €1,360

MC       Jarryd Felton     76-72—148

MC       Deyen Lawson  75-74—149

LPGA Tour

Meijer LPGA Classic

Blythefield Country Club, Grand Rapids, Michigan

T15      Su Oh   67-65-69-71—272         $US30,620

T29      Katherine Kirk   70-67-70-68—275         $15,407

T45      Gabriela Ruffels 67-72-69-69—277         $8,609

T45      Hannah Green  70-66-71-70—277         $8,609

T61      Lydia Ko            71-69-71-69—280         $5,493

MC       Sarah Kemp      73-73—146

MC       Sarah Jane Smith           73-73—146

Legends Tour

Farmfoods European Legends Links Championship

Trevose Golf & Country Club, Padstow, England

T14      Michael Long    77-70-68—215  €4,350

T17      Peter Fowler     75-72-70—217  €2,906

T33     Michael Campbell         78-72-71—221  €1,650

PGA TOUR Latinoamerica

Holcim Colombia Classic

Club Campestre de Bucaramanga, Bucaramanga, Colombia

MC       Danny List         73-76—149