Hard work pays off for Luck with first Korn Ferry win

August 24th, 2020 / Anthony Powter

Curtis Luck’s short game has always been impressive and with a clutch up-and-down on the 72nd hole he outlasted the field to win the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and secure his maiden Korn Ferry title.

Luck, 24, who held the 36 and 54-hole leads at The Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course, dug deep to overtake a packed Sunday leaderboard that at one point had five players tied for the lead. When he drained a 2 metre putt on the final hole to win by a shot, Luck was relieved that his short game had stood up under the intense pressure.

Curtis Luck Curtis Luck (Credit: PGA Tour)

“Yeah, it was a tough day from start to finish,” said Luck. “Unfortunately, I made a couple of bogeys, but I just rolled with them and dug deep to finish. Off all the things that has stuck by me over the years has been my putting and my short game, so just backing myself and believing in yourself and I managed to sneak one in on the right side when it counted.”

With the win Luck moved from 135th on the Korn Ferry points standing to 18th and inside the all-important top-25 to be the highest Aussie in the rankings. It took Luck 44 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour before securing a well deserved victory after six top-10 finishes during the three years he’s played the tour.

Luck, who was runner-up at the 2014 Australian Amateur, has always let his clubs do the talking despite meeting resistance with some administrators back in Australian when he was playing amateur golf and trying to forge his way onto the world stage.

What’s In The Bag: Curtis Luck

  • Callaway MAVRIK Driver (9º)
  • Callaway MAVRIK 4W (16.5º)
  • Callaway MAVRIK 5W (18º)
  • Callaway Apex Pro Forged Irons (4-9)
  • Callaway JAWS Wedges (46, 50, 56, 60º)
  • Odyssey Toulon Garage Palm Beach Putter
  • Callaway Chrome Soft Triple Track Ball

Luck also won the 2016 Western Australian Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia before collecting the 2016 US Amateur title. In March 2017, Luck became the top-ranked amateur in the world and a month later turned professional.

Although PGA Tour cards will not be awarded this year upon the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, Luck has also played himself into a fantastic position to gain one of the five spots in the 2020 US Open.

The top-10 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List through this week’s competition will earn starts in 2020-21 PGA Tour opposite events, and the top-5 on a three-event Points List (Albertsons Boise Open, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and Korn Ferry Tour Championship) will earn exemptions at Winged Foot next month.

Brett Drewitt was the next best Australian finishing in a share of 45th position at even par, with Harrison Endycott a shot further back in a share of 51st position.

Brett Coletta, Jamie Arnold and Ryan Ruffels missed the weekend with Ruffels carding rounds of 75-77. Ruffels fell from 32nd to 40th in the standings but is well inside the top-75 who qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals which commence this week at Victoria National GC in Newburgh, Indiana.