Argentine Jorge Fernández Valdés clinches first Korn Ferry Tour win at UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH

RALEIGH, North Carolina – Jorge Fernández Valdés sunk a 25-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to secure his first Korn Ferry Tour victory over Trent Phillips and win the UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH at Raleigh Country Club.

A native of Cordoba, Argentina, Fernández Valdés turned professional in 2012 and played on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica for two seasons before earning status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2014. He returned to PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2016 where he remained until regaining conditional status this season by finishing No. 3 in the 2022 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Totalplay Cup standings.

“It was a long journey to get here,” Fernández Valdés said. “It's been like 10 years of professional golf and I can't believe it, I can win out here. It's really tough, there's so many good players and every week it's hard to beat everybody, so I’m really happy with this.”

The 30-year-old Argentine entered the day two strokes behind 54-hole leader and Raleigh native Grayson Murray, but after sinking a long eagle putt on the par-4 ninth hole, he found himself back near the top of the leaderboard. Two more birdies on the back nine at the par-5 12th and par-3 14th, as well as a bogey at the par-4 16th, put Fernández Valdés at 13-under par, forcing the playoff with Phillips, who was already in the clubhouse at 13-under following his four-straight birdies on Nos. 13-16.

Fernández Valdés and Phillips headed back to the difficult par-4 18th, which ranked third toughest all week relative to par. After a drive that faded slightly right and missed the fairway, Fernández Valdés reached the green on his second shot and set himself up for what was a bit of a redemption putt, lying in a similar place to the one he had just missed 20 minutes earlier to clinch what would have been a win in regulation.

“I had missed a similar putt on the 72nd hole, with a pretty similar line, but I trusted it this time. I hit it pretty good,” Fernández Valdés explained. “Obviously, the putt that I hit before helped me a lot, which is unbelievable.

“I played very well this week,” he added. “Like the last nine holes of the tournament I was playing pretty good, but didn't know I was that close, to be honest. I saw (Grayson) Murray playing very solid and he was like 16-under. But that’s golf, and nobody understands this sport sometimes.”

Murray, who is coming off a win just two weeks earlier at the AdventHealth Championship, was leading the field by as much as four strokes during Sunday’s final round. After a tough stretch on the back nine, brought on by a double-bogey and three bogeys from holes 12-17, he ended up needing an eagle on No. 18 to secure his spot in the playoff. Unfortunately, for the 29-year-old and his large gallery of fans cheering on the Raleigh product, he finished with a final-round 1-over 71, one shot shy of joining the playoff.

Murray finished the event T3, along with second-year member John Augenstein, who shot his low round of the event with a final-round 4-under 66 to jump up four spots on the leaderboard. Augenstein’s T3 finish marks his best finish of the season after at T7 at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard in February.

With the win, along with his five additional top-25 finishes this season, Fernández Valdés rises from No. 61 on the Points List to 10th, placing him in prime position to pursue what would be his first PGA TOUR card at season’s end.

“Yes, it's huge,” Fernández Valdés added. “We are through half of the season and it’s going to be really nice to have a chance to stay in the top 30. It's something we were looking for for a long time. Well, I'm in the position and I have to keep playing very well.”

For rookie member Trent Phillips, his runner-up finish holds even more weight. After narrowly getting into last week’s Visit Knoxville Open, he secured a T23 in that tournament to earn a start at this week’s event in Raleigh. After Sunday’s 4-under 66 performance, Phillips has no doubt where he’ll be playing next week.

“It was a great day,” Phillips said. “I’m just happy to be out here playing. Last week, I had my first top-25 of the season and I’m finally starting to play a little better, making some putts. This is great.

“Hats off to Jorge,” he added. “That was one of the best birdies I’ve ever seen. And, to do that in a playoff, hats off to him.”

The 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season continues Thursday with the first round of the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX, hosted by Thornblade Club in Greer, South Carolina, with Golf Channel televising all four rounds.

Final-Round Notes

In his ninth career start on the Korn Ferry Tour, rookie Trent Phillips (2nd / -13) recorded his best finish of the season as runner-up after falling to Fernández Valdés on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff

- His 72-hole score of 267 is the lowest of his young career; only had seven holes of bogey or worse throughout the week, tied for the fewest by any player in the field

-Made his professional debut in this event last season as a sponsor exemption but missed the cut

- 23-year-old from Spartanburg, South Carolina, he played collegiately at the University of Georgia where he was a three-time All-American, four-time All-Southeastern Conference honoree and finished ranked No. 8 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022

- With the runner-up finish, he will now rise from 128th to 32nd on the Points List

John Augenstein (T3 / -12) recorded the best finish of his career in what was his 37th Korn Ferry Tour start

- Clinched lowest 72-hole score on the Tour (268) and final-round 66 marked his lowest final-round score

- In his second season on the Korn Ferry Tour, now has logged two top-10 finishes this season with his other top 10 being T7 at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard

Raleigh native and outright 54-hole leader Grayson Murray (T3 / -12) carded a final-round 1-over 71 to finish one stroke out of the two-man playoff

- Murray opened with rounds of 66-65-66 and held a one-stroke lead over Kyle Westmoreland after 54 holes

- Final-round 71 consisted of five birdies against four bogeys and one double bogey

- Marks Murray’s second top-five finish in the last three weeks after he won the AdventHealth Championship two weeks ago

- Rises from No. 17 on the Points List to No. 8

Kyle Westmoreland (5th / -11), who made his first start of the Korn Ferry Tour this season, finished solo fifth and marked the best finish in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned start after 64 total starts (24 on PGA TOUR 24, 32 on Korn Ferry Tour and eight on PGA TOUR Canada)

- Held a share of the 18-hole lead, the outright 36-hole lead and sat one stroke behind Murray entering the final round; prior to this week, had never held a lead of any kind on the Korn Ferry Tour

- Recorded a career-low 7-under 63 in the first round to tie Matt McCarty (T7 / -8) for the 18-hole co-lead

- Previous best finish in a Korn Ferry Tour event was solo seventh at last year’s Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics

Frankie Capan III (T6 / -10) carded five consecutive birdies on Nos. 13-17 and finished with a final-round 3-under 67 to place T6, his second top-10 finish of the season, and rise from 40th to 30th on the Points List

- After starting the final round with three straight birdies on Nos. 1-3, Tom Whitney (T6 / -10) bounced back with four birdies at Nos. 9, 10, 15 and 17, and clinched his fourth top-10 finish of the season

Jacob Bridgeman (T8 / -9), who finished No. 2 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022, earned his seventh top-25 finish of the 2023 season, along with the third in the top 10

Matt McCarty (T8 / -9), the 18-hole co-leader alongside Westmoreland, tallied his fifth top-25 finish in his last six starts; McCarty has four top-10 finishes this season, highlighted by a T3 at The Great Bahamas Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club

- No. 12 on the Points List, Shad Tuten (T8 / -9) cards four rounds under par and earns his fourth top-10 finish of the season

Cary, North Carolina native Ben Kohles (T18 / -6) entered the day T31 before rolling in four birdies and one bogey in the final round to place T18, his sixth finish inside the top 25 this year

- Kohles ranks No. 1 on the Points List and remaind the only player with two wins this season (Astara Chile Classic and HomeTown Lenders Championship)

Jake Knapp (T27 / -4) recorded the low round of the day with a 5-under 65; Knapp, who sat T58 after 54 holes, carded six birdies against one bogey Sunday