Thongchai Jaidee, who became the first player from Thailand to win on PGA TOUR Champions with last year’s win at the American Family Insurance Championship, grabbed another title on a grander stage.
Jaidee outlasted Justin Leonard at Pebble Beach Golf Links, winning the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff to capture the PGA Tour Champions Pure Insurance Championship when Leonard hooked his tee shot into a penalty area abutting the Pacific Ocean on the par-5 18th.
The 53-year-old Jaidee, who has 19 international wins, finished with a two-putt par while Leonard had to play his third shot from the tee box on his way to a double-bogey 7.
In the Pro-Junior portion of the competition, Brayden Casolari of First Tee Pine Mountain (Kentucky), who was paired with pro Brian Gay, won the boys division at 195, while Alyssa Stewart of First Tee Greater Dallas, who was paired with pro Justin Leonard, won in the girls division by eight strokes at 188.
In other First Tee news, a pair of NorCal First Tee facilities—First Tee Monterey County and First Tee Central Coast—were awarded IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) grants by the USGA.
The two NorCal facilities were among 27 First Tee sites receiving grants.