HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — C.T. Pan watched the Masters last week with his wife, and sometimes caddie, Yingchun Lin, thrilled by Tiger Woods’ stirring victory at Augusta National.
His wife, Pan recalled, told him point blank, “Hey, I’m not patient, so you better get me (to Augusta) as soon as possible.”
Pan complied quickly, taking advantage of top-ranked Dustin Johnson’s back-nine meltdown Sunday to win the RBC Heritage for his first PGA Tour victory.
Along with $1.242 million, the win opens a world of opportunities for the 27-year-old Taiwanese player: He’s exempt on tour through 2020-21, in line to make the President’s Cup International team this year and will have an opportunity he’s dreamed about since taking up the game in the mid-1990s by playing at Augusta National.