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Rhein Gibson will return to the PGA TOUR in 2020 a more accomplished and well-rounded player after breaking through for his maiden win on the Web.com Tour at a rain-shortened BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina.

Persistent rain meant that Sunday’s third round would be the tournament’s final one, Gibson coming from two strokes back to win by three courtesy of a bogey-free round of 8-under 63 to record the most significant win of his professional career.

A professional since 2010, prior to this week Gibson’s main claim to fame was the 16-under 55 he shot at River Oaks Golf Club in Oklahoma in 2012 that earned him a place in the Guinness World Records.

In 170 prior events that attract Official World Golf Ranking points Gibson had never broken through for a win of significance, two top-five finishes in 2015 on the Web.com Tour earning promotion to the PGA TOUR the following year.

With three top-10 finishes already this season Gibson’s win will almost certainly secure a return to golf’s richest tour, rocketing into seventh position on the moneylist and with one hand on one of the 25 Tour cards that will be handed out at the end of the regular season.

"I’ve definitely put myself in some opportunities before to win, but it just didn’t go my way on Sunday," Gibson said.

"It was good to get in the hunt again and actually close it out with a bogey-free round.

“If someone shot 9 (under) and beat me, I’d still be pretty happy with 8 (under)."

The 33-year-old who hails from Lismore in northern New South Wales finished 199th in the FedEx Cup in 2016 to lose his status and hopes to use this win to start forging an identity beyond his extraordinary round of seven years ago.

"That (55) was very sweet, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t want to be known just for the 55," Gibson said.

"It was good to validate that with a good win today and especially on television.

“I know what I’ve been doing is correct and I’m glad to see it pay off."

In 20 starts on the PGA TOUR in 2016 Gibson made 11 cuts with a best finish of a tie for 25th at the Barracuda Championship but believes he is much better-equipped to make more of an impression next year.

“That’s awesome,” Gibson said when told his win would secure a PGA TOUR return.

“I think I’m a more well-rounded player all round. I didn’t get many opportunities the year that I did have my card but really looking forward to getting back out there.

“I kind of know what to expect now and ready for round two.”

A second round of 62 was the highlight for New Zealand’s Steven Alker who finished tied for 43rd while Brett Drewitt finalised his preparations for his major championship debut at the US Open in a tie for 52nd at 9-under par.

Kiwi Danny Lee was the pick of the small Australasian contingent at the RBC Canadian Open, an opening round of 5-under 65 giving him a platform from which to finish tied for 20th.

A final round of 9-under 61 saw Rory McIlroy record his 16th PGA TOUR title in a manner few players can match, finishing seven shots clear of Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

Rod Pampling was the only Aussie to play all four rounds to break a streak of 13 missed cuts, four straight rounds of 1-under 69 earning him a tie for 35th, his best finish on the PGA TOUR since the RBC Heritage more than 12 months ago.

Web.com Tour
BMW Charity Pro-Am
Thornblade Club, South Carolina
1             Rhein Gibson      66-64-63—193   $US126,000
T43        Steven Alker        73-62-69—204   $2,236
T52        Brett Drewitt         65-71-69—205   $1,876
MC         Tim Wilkinson     70-70—140
MC         Jamie Arnold       70-71—141
MC         Min Woo Lee      74-68—142
MC         Brett Coletta        74-74—148
WD        Cameron Percy   69

PGA TOUR
RBC Canadian Open
Hamilton Golf and Country Club, Ontario
T20        Danny Lee           65-72-67-69—273            $US79,257
T35        Rod Pampling     69-69-69-69—276            $34,327
MC         Curtis Luck          71-68—139
MC         Cameron Davis   73-71—144

A solid week at the low scoring ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open will hold Rhein Gibson in good stead as he looks to recapture his early season form at the Web.com Tour’s El Bosque Championship in Mexico this week.

Gibson posted back-to-back top-3 finishes to start the year on the South American swing and took advantage of a three week break in the schedule to head Down Under for last week’s ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open.

A 16-under-par effort at The Hills and Millbrook courses was good for a T23 finish but, more importantly, the low scoring is excellent preparation for what is to come this week.

The El Bosque course in Mexico has produced winning totals in the 16 to 18-under range each of the past three seasons, the pressure of needing to make a lot of birdies in Queenstown carrying over to this week.

Gibson is one of five Australians teeing up this week with Jamie Arnold, Brett Drewitt, Cameron Percy and Stuart Appleby and Tim Wilkinson of New Zealand all also in the field.

Like Gibson, Arnold made the trip to New Zealand last week and fared even better with an 18-under total to be T11.

Having missed the first two cuts of the Web.com season the return to form in Queenstown will be a welcome one as he tries to improve on his T32 finish at this event last year.

Fellow Web.com Tour regular Brett Drewitt didn’t make the journey to New Zealand but after a month long break will be fresh ahead of this week’s tournament.

Drewitt started the year fast with back to back top-10 results but lost some momentum with a missed cut and T54 finish in his other two events.

Stuart Appleby tees up on the secondary Tour for just the second time this year while Cameron Percy makes his first appearance at this level for 2018.

Rhein Gibson’s mission to get back to the PGA TOUR got off to a flying start when he shared the opening round lead at the Web.com Tour’s Club Colombia Championship.

Gibson toured the Bogota Country Club course with seven birdies against two bogeys Thursday for a 5-under 66 which had him part of a four-way tie at the top of the standings.

But after what has been a brilliant start to the season, including third place finishes at each of the opening two tournaments, the Australian lost momentum Friday and with an uncharacteristic 1-over 72 began a slide down the leaderboard that he ultimately couldn’t halt.

A third round 73 and a closing 72 added up to 1-under for the week and a share of 47^th, a result that will have the Lismore native less than pleased.

New Zealand’s Steve Alker claimed top Australasian honours for the week with an impressive final round of 67 to leapfrog 31 players on Sunday.

He finished T29, three shots ahead of Gibson who was T47. Brett Drewitt was the last of the Australasians to make the cut and at even par was T54 for the week.

Curtis Lusk missed his first cut since joining the Web.com Tour this year, Jamie Arnold, Mathew Goggin and New Zealand’s Tim Wilkinson also having the weekend off.