Madison,
13
June
2022
|
09:01 AM
America/Chicago

Jaidee claims historic AmFam Champ victory

JaideeThongchai Jaidee made history at the American Family Insurance Championship Sunday, becoming the first golfer from Thailand to win a PGA TOUR event of any kind, claiming the PGA TOUR Champions title at University Ridge Golf Course.

Jaidee responded to a bad-luck bogey from a lost ball on the 16th hole by rolling in a clutch birdie putt on the next hole. He parred the 18th to shoot a final-round 68 for a winning total of 14 under, one stroke better than a hard-charging Tom Pernice, Jr. Two-time defending champion Jerry Kelly and three other players tied for third another shot back.

Jaidee’s win was the first by a Thailand player in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event, including the PGA TOUR,Jaidee the PGA TOUR Champions and the Korn Ferry Tour. While it was his first PGA TOUR Champions title, he holds 19 international titles, the last one in 2019. He also played on the World Team at the 2015 President’s Cup.

Tournament player-host Steve Stricker, like Kelly a Madison resident, shot his best round of the tournament, a five-under 67, to finish in the championship in a tie for 11th place.

“It was another wonderful week here,” Stricker said. “Tremendous crowd support, sponsor support and player support. We had it all again.”

Other Wisconsin finishers

Wisconsin natives Skip Kendall and Mario Tiziani both finished the tournament at 4-under par, in a tie for 35h place, after shooting matching 1-under 71s in their final round.

Looking forward to 2023

The 2023 American Family Insurance Championship will be held June 9-11 at University Ridge Golf Course, with pre-tournament activities beginning on June 3.

 Link to Leaderboard (final results)
PGA TOUR Champions third-round notes