Gibson back to PGA Tour

Rhein Gibson with the BMW Pro-Am trophy in South Carolina. Image: Getty

The Australian Rhein Gibson goes back to the US PGA Tour.

New South Welshman Gibson, 33, today won the BMW Pro-Am event of the Web.com Tour in Greenville, South Carolina, ensuring that he will finish in 2019 among the top 25 players on the tour and his playing rights for the 2019-20 PGA Tour season.

He closed the rain-curtailed event with a 63 today at Thorn Blade Golf Club to win with three shots at 21-substandard. He is in seventh place on the points list and is guaranteed to remain in the top 25 regardless of what happens during the rest of the season.

"I wasn't sure if we would get 54 holes, but I wanted to come out with the clean mind that we would get 54," Gibson said. "I tried to keep the pedal low and try to make as many birdies as possible. Fortunately, I was able to win with three strokes. It prepares me for a new stint on the PGA Tour, so I am excited."

Gibson, originally from Lismore but lived in America for a few years after playing college golf in Oklahoma, played on the main tour in 2016 before retiring to the web.

Meanwhile, in Hamilton, Canada, Rory McIlroy surprised his competitors with a closing 61 to win the Canadian Open with seven shots, giving him an ideal warm-up for this week's US Open

And in New Jersey the former world number 1 Lexi Thompson gathered and won the Shoprite Classic of the LPGA Tour.