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

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