Thongchai becomes first Thai to win on PGA Tour Champions

Tied for the lead overnight, the 52-year-old Thongchai signed off with a 4-under 68 for a winning total of 14-under 202 at University Ridge – The University of Wisconsin Golf Course to earn his maiden victory on US soil in his 19th career start on the 50-and-over PGA Tour Champions.

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Tom Pernice Jr. finished second after a 66. Miguel Angel Jimenez, who was tied for the second-round lead with Thongchai, had a 70 to tie for third at 12-under with Jerry Kelly (67), Marco Dawson (67) and Kirk Triplett (68).

"I'm really very happy with the tournament here. Sometimes everything has to be perfect, you can't expect you can win ... I'm very happy," said Thongchai, who had earned a place in this week's tournament after finishing 10th in Iowa last weekend.

With his lowest 54-hole score on the PGA Tour Champions, Thongchai became the first foreigner to win the American Family Insurance Championship and rose to 12th place on the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

He is now exempt on the over-50 circuit through the end of 2023 and also earned a spot in the 2023 Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hualalai, Hawaii.

Thongchai bounced back from a bogey on the par-5 16th hole with a birdie on the par-3 17th and then closed out for victory with a closing par. It turned out to be a gutsy bogey on the 16th as he rolled in a long putt from just off the green for his six.

"Great tournament here," said Thongchai, who regained his PGA Tour Champions card last December by finishing runner-up in the Qualifying School.

"I played solid, solid, solid. I made one mistake on 16, hit the tree and lost the ball. We made a good bogey and tried to get back to my plan. We had 215 yards for my fourth shot, I hit the 5-iron to the back of the green. I think it was a good putt from there to make a bogey. I holed a good putt on 17 and the game changed after that. Hole 17 was unbelievable. I think my confidence was in the putting, that's what helped me a lot."

Thongchai was in the Thai Army and trained as a paratrooper before turning professional at the age of 30. He holds multiple wins in Asia and has won eight times on the DP World Tour.

Thongchai also became the first Thai golfer to play in the 2015 Presidents Cup but did not earn a PGA Tour card during his heyday.

"I would like to say thank you to my family, my sponsors and all the people's support in Thailand. I think it's very difficult to be on the tour," he said.