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HAIKOU, CHINA — Big-hitting American Joseph Winslow shot a closing 3-under 69 to secure a four-stroke victory over compatriot Ryann Ree (70) at the PGA TOUR Series-China International Qualifying Tournament No. 2, the second of two successive 72-hole qualifiers at Mission Hills Haikou. Winslow finished 12-under over the 7,147-yard Sandbelt Trails Course, while Ree was followed by fellow Americans Kevin Techakanokboon (69), at 7-under, and Brett Munson (70) at 6-under. Jesse Speirs (fifth), Matthew Negri (ninth) and Cody Paladino (14th) rounded out the seven Americans in the top-15. Chinese Taipei’s Haosheng Hsu and Chiehpo “Max� Lee finished sixth and 10th, respectively. Other qualifiers included England’s William Harrold (seventh), Singapore’s Quincy Quek (eighth), Philippine amateur Lloyd Jefferson Go (11th) and Ireland’s Brian O’Donovan (12th), a Mission Hills Shenzhen teaching pro. Korean Taeho Kim (13th) was later joined by countryman Myunghwa Hong after the latter won a four-way playoff with a birdie at the first extra hole to secure the 15th full card. Players from Canada, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Argentina, Japan and New Zealand were among those who finished in the top 40 to earn conditional status. Winslow, 25, was the star of the event after sharing the lead after 36 holes and posting a three-stroke lead over Ree after day three. However, Ree, the 23-year-old San Diego State University graduate, opened with four birdies to draw level with Winslow, who birdied one. Winslow then fell behind after a bogey at No. 5 but regained the lead when Ree double-bogeyed No. 6. Winslow took the chance to pounce, the 6-foot-5 slugger powering ahead with birdies at Nos. 8, 9 and 10 and made up for a bogey at No. 11 with another birdie at No. 14 before cruising home with four pars. “I feel pretty good. That was a successful week. I played really solid for four rounds. I came into this week feeling good about my game, and it was nice to go out there and execute the shots,� said Winslow. “Ryann put some pressure on me right away there in the first few holes. He made four birdies in a row, and I bogeyed the fifth to lose my lead, but I just told myself to keep playing my game, stay mentally tough out there and that’s exactly what happened.� At last month’s PGA TOUR Latinoamerica qualifier in Bogota, Colombia, a closing 80 dropped Winslow from solo second to 17th, securing him only conditional status on that Tour. He believes he has learned from that lesson. “It was especially good to get some revenge from the Latinoamerica Q-School. The thing I’m most proud of is that the adjustments I wanted to make based on what happened in Bogota worked well,� said Winslow, who played 12 events on last year’s PGA TOUR Latinoamerica—his best finish a tie for ninth at the 64 Aberto do Brasil in October. “That confirms that when I get into this position, which I anticipate being in more often, I know how to get it done on the final day. I’m really proud of that. I just like the way that I stayed focused on one shot at a time today, didn’t get ahead of myself and just kept grinding,� Winslow added. Quek, who has played on the Asian Tour, shot weekend rounds of 68 and 67 to regain his card, a week after young Singaporeans Joshua Shou and Jesse Yap secured conditional status at the same venue. “It’s been a good couple of rounds to get back my card. I’m really happy knowing I have 14 events this year,� said the 30-year-old, who played the Tour in 2014 and 2015. “Back in 2014, I got conditional status in China and played most events (20 of the 24 tournaments in 2014 and 2015). I’m really happy Joshua and Jesse got conditional status, especially since they just turned pro. It’s great that PGA TOUR China is back, and I’m looking forward to a great season.� Arie Irawan, 27, was aiming to become the first Malaysian to hold a full card on PGA TOUR Series-China and eventually finished 24th after a 76 left him even-par overall. “I guess I’m relieved. If I can get plenty of starts, I’ll be happy. I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t get full membership, but if I get enough starts, then I’m ecstatic,� said Irawan, a former Asian Tour player and two-time winner on the Asian Development Tour. “The course conditions on PGA TOUR China, the way it sets up, suits my game. The goal would now be to get into the top five (on the Order of Merit), so I’ve got to really prepare myself for the tournaments I get into.� Full Members: International Qualifying Tournament No. 2, Mission Hills Haikou (Sandbelt Trails) U.S. (7): Joseph Winslow (won), Ryann Ree (second), Kevin Techakanokboon (third), Brett Munson (fourth), Jesse Speirs (fifth), Mathew Negri (ninth), Cody Paladino (14th) Chinese Taipei (2): Haosheng Hsu (sixth), Chiehpo Lee (10th) South Korea (2): Taeho Kim (13th), Myunghwa Hong (15th) Ireland (1): Brian O’Donovan (12th) Singapore (1): Quincy Quek (eighth) Philippines (1): Lloyd Jefferson Go (A) (11th) U.K. (1): William Harrold (seventh) Full Members: International Qualifying Tournament No. 1, Mission Hills Haikou (Sandbelt Trails) U.S. (4): Jeffrey Kang (won), Alex Kim (sixth), Trevor Sluman (seventh), Kurt Kitayama (12th) Australia (4): Lucas Herbert (second), Kevin Yuan (third), D.J. Loypur (eighth), Andrew Schonewille (15th) Japan (2): Taihei Sato (fourth), Koki Ishihara (14th) Canada (1): Richard Jung (ninth) Italy (1): Aron Zemmer (10th) New Zealand (1): Luke Toomey (11th) South Korea (1): Daejin Jeong (13th) Sweden (1): Oskar Arvidsson (5th) International Qualifying Tournament Winners

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THE OVERVIEW By Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM For a fair chunk of Sunday at The Open Championship, it appeared Matt Kuchar was going to join the list of major champions. But as history shows, a late turnaround and blitz from Jordan Spieth snatched that dream away from the man they call ‘Kuch.’ So now this season becomes a very interesting one for the seven-time PGA TOUR winner, whose resume includes a signature win at the 2012 PLAYERS Championship. Kuchar will turn 40 in June and is coming off a season with nine top-10s. He has made the TOUR Championship the last eight seasons, finishing inside the top 20 of the FedExCup every year since he was runner up in 2010. He’s 11 of 11 when it comes to making the FedExCup Playoffs. Will he continue to be a factor against the greater depth and youth on TOUR or will things start to get harder for the smiling assassin? Statistically he remains far above average. Inside the top 70 in all Strokes Gained categories last season, including 16th overall. While he continues to putt well and drive the ball accurately, any perceived loss in distance will be overcome. Consistency has always been a hallmark of Kuchar’s game. Now he needs to take it to another level in the big weeks. Not much has to change – his game was good enough last season to finish inside the top-16 of all four majors, inside the top 5 in two of them – but after getting so close at Royal Birkdale last year, perhaps Kuchar will now turn disappointment into major victory. Click here to follow Ben on Twitter BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 107th Playoff appearances: 11 TOUR Championship appearances: 8 Best result: 2nd (2010) INSIGHTS FROM OUR INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Matt Kuchar in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit The remarkably consistent Kuchar shows no signs of slowing down even at 39. Last season he was again deadly accurate off the tee (66 percent, ranking him 31st on TOUR), putted better than average, and registered his career-best finish in a major with an unforgettable runner-up to Jordan Spieth at the Open Championship. Kuchar has made every U.S. Presidents and Ryder Cup team since 2010, and will most likely keep on doing so for the foreseeable future, but whether this seven-time TOUR winner will finally add a major title to his resume remains an open question. Click here to follow Cameron on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton Just when you think that Father Time is applying pressure, he hangs up another quality performance. You want reliability? You got it. He’s competed in eight consecutive TOUR Championships. You want durability? Sure. Since 2011, he’s averaged more than 24 starts per season and hasn’t withdrawn during any. Quite simply, he’s an easy late first-rounder because he knows who he is and we know what he delivers. It’s hard to believe that the big 4-0 lingers on June 21, 2018, but it had to arrive at some point, it’s just that it won’t matter. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Kuchar has anywhere from six to seven different equipment brands in the bag. Scaled back the amount of forward press in his stroke, which required Bettinardi to make a new KM2 D.A.A.S. putter with new loft and offset specs (5 degrees of loft and 1 shaft worth of offset). Currently carries three different wedge brands (Bridgestone, Callaway and Cleveland). Began using a new Bridgestone Tour B XS golf ball at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Kuchar is a case study in how simple style tweaks can make a big impact. During the past couple of years, he has ditched the pleats and the mismatched hats and moved to flat front trousers and exotic skin belts. As a result, his looks are cleaner and more modern. The last piece of the fashion puzzle for Kuch is slimmer fitting shirts. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter

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