Widing Makes It 2 in a Row at Veritex Bank; Capan Is 4th

National

ARLINGTON, Texas -- About the only time being the leader in the Veritex Bank Championship meant much was at the end. Before that, being at the head of the pack just meant you needed to keep making birdies. A lot of them. 

Which is precisely what Tim Widing did on Sunday afternoon at Texas Rangers Golf Club. By the time he was done with his final round, he had set a Korn Ferry Tour record with 33 birdies -- plus an eagle -- in 72 holes. Starting the day two ahead of former Minnesota State Amateur champion Frankie Capan, Widiing never let up. He made four birdies on the way to a front-nine 32, and if there was still any real doubt about whether he would win, he erased it by making an eagle at the 572-yard, par-5 10th hole. 

The 26-year-old former University of San Francisco star -- and Swedish National Team member -- added four more birdies, including three in the last four holes for his second 63 of the week. He also had a 62, and his worst score was a 65, on the way to posting a 72-hole total of 253, which was 31 under par, the lowest score relative to par in the 34-year history of the Korn Ferry, formerly known as the Ben Hogan Tour, the web.com, the Nationwide, and that's not all of them.

This was his second victory in a row. He won the LECOM Suncoast Classic last week. For his efforts this week in Arlington, he received $180,000, and he now leads the Korn Ferry money list with $443, 052. That's nearly double what anyone else has made. Widing also got 500 points and has a huge lead in the Korn Ferry Points List. Even though there a lot of tournaments left on the 2024 schedule, he has virtually assured himself of being in the top 30 on the points list at the end of the year -- and graduating to the PGA Tour for 2025.

Myles Creighton, a 27-year-old Canadian who worked his way up to the Korn Ferry Tour by finishing second on the now-extinct PGA Tour Latinoamerica last year, played the last 10 holes in 7 under on Sunday. He was never going to catch Widing, but his 62 got him to 27 under for the week, and his 257 aggregate was good for second place. 

Trent Phillips was third to start the day, and he needed a 65 to stay there. A former first-team All-American at Georgia, Phillips ended up one behind Creighton at 258. 

Capan, 24, caused a sensation on Thursday when he went 9 under in a span of eight holes -- an eagle at the ninth, followed by seven birdies -- and shot 58, not quite a Korn Ferry record for lowest score, but the lowest relative to par. He  had 11 birdies and the eagle that day. He made six more birdies each of the next two days, but could muster only four on Sunday. Capan was 3 under for the day, and in a four way tie for fourth place when he arrived at the 18th tee. His drive went 308 yards, which is pretty close to his average of 305.6, and he hit his second shot 288 yards. That put him 69 feet from the cup. His first putt left him a 6-footer for his birdie, and he made it.

The second putt was worth about a $1,000 per foot. By making it, Capan broke out of that tie and finished alone in fourth at 260 (-24), which earned him $45,000. That moved him up eight spots on the  Korn Ferry Money List, from 30th to 22nd. He is also now 22nd on the all-important points list, with 350.   


Veritex Bank Championship

At Texas Rangers Golf Club

Par 71, 6,527 yards

Arlington, Texas

Final results

1. Tim Widing                        62-63-65-63--253 (-31)

2. Myles Creighton                65-65-65-62--257

3. Trent Phillips                     61-65-67-65--258

4. Frankie Capan                 58-67-67-68--260

T5. Quade Cummings          69-63-65-64--261

T5. Hunter Eichorn               64-66-65-66--261

T5. Evan Harmeling             66-65-69-61--261

Missed cut -- 135

Andre Metzger                     66-72--138

Van Holmgren                      67-71--138