Two missed cuts in his two starts to date this year, Drewitt began the final round in a tie for 23rd but bolted out of the blocks, four straight birdies to begin his round thrusting him upwards toward the top 10.

Back-to-back pars were followed by a fifth birdie at the par-4 seventh and momentum as he made the turn.

A slight stumble at 10 was rectified with an additional birdie at the par-5 12th only for dropped shots at 15 and 16 to prevent him from squeezing into the top five.

By banking his first cheque of the year Drewitt moved from 98th to 32nd on the moneylist as countryman Ryan Ruffels climbed further entrenched himself inside the top 25 courtesy of his tie for 15th.

Two shots off the lead after a bogey-free 5-under 65 in his opening round, Ruffels traded bogeys and birdies over the following three rounds, ultimately signing for three straight even par 70s to move up seven spots to 17th on the Order of Merit.

In his first Korn Ferry Tour start of the year, Sydney’s Harrison Endycott also made an impression in the final round, his 4-under 66 one of the best rounds of the day as he climbed into a tie for 60th.

Kiwi Danny Lee and former champion Aaron Baddeley were the only two Australasian players to make the cut at the PGA TOUR’s Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, finishing tied for 25th and tied for 40th respectively as Webb Simpson claimed victory in a playoff over US Presidents Cup teammate Tony Finau.

Korn Ferry Tour
Panama Championship
Panama GC, Panama City, Panama
T7           Brett Drewitt      67-70-70-66—273            $US18,542
T15        Ryan Ruffels       65-70-70-70—275            $9,688
T60        Harrison Endycott            70-69-77-66—282            $2,538
MC         Mathew Goggin 72-72—144
MC         Steven Bowditch               75-72—147

PGA TOUR
Waste Management Phoenix Open
TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona
T25        Danny Lee           68-69-69-69—275            $US52,601
T40        Aaron Baddeley 68-70-72-68—278            $28,835
MC         Matt Jones          74-68—142
MC         Greg Chalmers   75-70—145
MC         Cameron Smith  76-72—148