LAKEWOOD RANCH – Jeremy Gandon drained a dramatic 10-foot birdie putt on the 72nd and final hole on Sunday at Lakewood National Golf Club to avoid a three-way playoff and capture the crown at the LECOM Suncoast Classic.
Down two strokes with just three holes left to play, the 29-year-old from Charpay, France, birdied them all to finish the annual stop on the Korn Ferry Tour with a 22-under par total of 262 and snagged a check for $180,000 from the $1 million purse.
Gandon snatched the title away from Mitchell Meissner and Jay Card III, both of whom were already in the clubhouse at 21-under for the tournament and expecting to be part of at least a two-man playoff before the Frenchman’s late-round heroics.
“Of course, I was nervous,” Gandon said. “I started getting nervous on No. 14. No, I was actually getting nervous all day.
“It’s not easy to manage the nerves. I guess you’re just always trying to come back to the present moment. I kept going and it worked out in the end.”
Gandon and Ian Gilligan, 23, who played two years of college golf at the University of Florida, were tied for the third round lead at 16-under. At one point on Sunday, six players were tied for the lead at 19-under with more than half of the final round completed.
That’s when the 5-8 Meissner, of San Antonio, Texas, emerged to take the lead at 20-under with a birdie on No. 11.
The 31-year-old Card, from Shelter Island, N.Y., just missed finishing the event at 22-under when his 28-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 18 literally laid on the lip, refusing to budge. Another roll of the ball and Card would have been in a playoff with Gandon.
It was Gandon’s second victory on the Korn Ferry Tour. He won the Cable Car Classic in Savannah, Ga., in 2025.
Like everyone else on the Korn Ferry Tour, Gandon is in the hunt to be in the top 20 in the points standings at the end of the season. That ensures a 2027 PGA Tour Card.
Gandon entered the Suncoast Classic ranked 26th on that list and earned a total of 500 points for Sunday’s victory, which will serve him well.
“I missed by a few points last year,” Gandon said. “I know what I need to do from here. It’s still early in the season. I’m playing good golf and it’s important to keep that momentum going.”
Meissner and Card both received checks for $75,000 after finishing tied for second. Four golfers tied for fourth at 20-under and earned $37,375 apiece, including Caleb Van Arragon of Blaine, Minn., Cole Hammer of Houston, Trace Crowe of Raleigh, N.C. and Gilligan.
Hayden Buckley, who won the Suncoast Classic in 2021, finished at 13-under in an eight-way tie for 28th, earning $6.806.
Phillip Knowles, a 29-year-old Bradenton resident who starred on the Bradenton Christian golf team, finished at 10-under in a nine-way tie for 42nd place, good for $4,605.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Jeremy Gandon wins LECOM Suncoast Classic with dramatic birdie in final hole
Reporting by Jim Brockman, Special to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
