Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat will have to sweat it out in his battle for a quick return to the PGA TOUR after enduring a torrid finish at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship on Sunday.

After making two early birdies on his front nine at The Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet Course) on Sunday, the 32-year-old endured a disappointing homeward stretch with four bogeys to sign for a final round of 2-over 73, which dropped him to a share of 34th position in the penultimate Korn Ferry Tour Finals event.

The result saw Kiradech slip from T15 to 22nd position on the Korn Ferry Tour Finals The 25 rankings, which will reward the top-25 finishers with PGA TOUR memberships at the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship which begins on Thursday.

Canadian Adam Svensson won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship on 17-under at The Ohio State University Golf Club (Scarlet Course). The victory was Svensson’s second of the 2020-21 season and third of his Korn Ferry Tour career.

“I’m just very excited I did win this week, especially playing out here,” Svensson said. “You’ve got to hit the ball well, you’ve got to put it in spots, and just knowing that I played the golf course correctly is pretty cool.”

Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira also finished T34 following a closing 72. His ranking dropped from T19 to 29th as the one-time PGA TOUR winner seeks to finish in the top-25. China’s Marty Zecheng Dou will start the final event in 48th place on the ranking while Korea’s Byeong Hun An, who missed the cut in the first two events, faces an uphill battle in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship as he seeks to return to the PGA TOUR after finishing outside the top-125 of the FedExCup standings.

On PGA TOUR Champions, Thai veteran star Thongchai Jaidee, who began two strokes off the pace at the Ally Challenge, settled for tied 15th position after signing off with a 75 for a 7-under 207 total, some 10 shots behind winner Joe Durant.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – MARCH 18: Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand plays his shot from the fifth tee during the first round of The Honda Classic at PGA National Champion course on March 18, 2021 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Final-Round Notes

  • Adam Svensson is the seventh player with multiple wins on the Korn Ferry Tour this season; the 1995 and 1999 seasons are the only others in Tour history with seven multi-time winners
  • Svensson’s win moves him from eighth to third in The 25 points standings, and he assumes the overall lead in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals points standings; the winners of The 25 points standings and the Korn Ferry Tour Finals points standings earn fully exempt status for the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season and an exemption into THE PLAYERS Championship
  • Svensson played the front nine at 11-under par (compared to 2-under par on the back nine) across the final three rounds
  • Bronson Burgoon (T2 / -15 / 269) and Stephan Jaeger (T2 / -15 / 269) also broke the previous Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship 72-hole scoring record of 270, and the six players who finished T4 tied the previous record
  • Jaeger withdrew from next week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, but holds a 362-point lead over Greyson Sigg in The 25 points standings
    • The only scenarios in which Jaeger does not finish No. 1 in The 25 points standings are:
      • Greyson Sigg solo third, four-way T2 or better, or a win
      • Chad Ramey or Adam Svensson win
  • Sahith Theegala (T4 / -14) played the first six holes of the back nine at 4-under par, but three-putted for bogey on the 72nd hole and finished 10 points shy of the 210-point threshold the Korn Ferry Tour is currently using as its fail-safe number for players to finish inside The Finals 25
    • Following his final collegiate season (2020) at Pepperdine University, Theegala swept the three major awards given to the most outstanding men’s collegiate golfer – the Fred Haskins Award, Ben Hogan Award, and Jack Nicklaus Award; he rose to as high as No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings prior to turning professional
    • Theegala made eight Korn Ferry Tour starts in the 2020-21 regular season, finishing as high as T9 at the 2021 MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute; he also made seven PGA TOUR starts during the 2021 season, finishing as high as T14 at the 2020 Safeway Open
  • Play was suspended due to lightning from 9:41 a.m. through 11:25 a.m. (1 hour, 44 minutes)
  • Weather: Partly cloudy, high of 88 degrees, wind SW at 4-12 mph
  • The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship is the second event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, a three-event series which determines the second set of 25 PGA TOUR cards given out for the upcoming 2021-22 season; the first set of 25 PGA TOUR cards was awarded two weeks ago to the top 25 points earners through the 43-event 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour regular season
  • This week’s purse was $1,000,000, with $180,000 going to the champion, Adam Svensson; he will also received 1,000 Korn Ferry Tour points

Final-Round Course Statistics

  • Toughest Hole – No. 2, Par 4, 472 yards (4.292 – five birdies, 22 bogeys, one double bogey)
  • Easiest Hole – No. 12, Par 5, 562 yards (4.477 – 35 birdies, one bogey)
  • Scoring Average (Front 9 – Par 36) – 35.031
  • Scoring Average (Back 9 – Par 35) – 34.723
  • Scoring Average (Total) – 69.754

 

Cumulative Course Statistics

  • Toughest Hole – No. 2, Par 4, 472 yards (4.151 – 38 birdies, 92 bogeys, three double bogeys or worse)
  • Easiest Hole – No. 12, Par 5, 562 yards (4.469 – seven eagles, 218 birdies, 16 bogeys or worse)
  • Scoring Average (Front 9 – Par 36) – 35.176
  • Scoring Average (Back 9 – Par 35) – 34.519
  • Scoring Average (Total) – 69.695
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