Creighton’s wild ride in Wichita Open ends with first Korn Ferry Tour win
Five feet separated Myles Creighton from his first Korn Ferry Tour victory, but with 40 mph gusts whipping across Crestview Country Club on Sunday afternoon, it felt double that.
The wind forced the 29-year-old Canadian to step away from his putt on the 72nd hole — twice. Finally, he made up his mind.
“I’m not picking my head up until I hear something,” Creighton said. “Whether it’s a groan or a cheer.”
The final putt was pure, and true to his word, Creighton didn’t steal a glance at the hole until he heard the roar from the gallery surrounding the 18th green. His 2-under-par 68 was enough to survive the blustery conditions, as his 72-hole total of 17-under 263 edged Emilio Gonzalez by a single stroke.
It capped a rollercoaster week for Creighton, who was in danger of missing the cut entirely at the turn of Friday’s round. But he rallied with a 5-under back nine — highlighted by his first competitive hole-in-one — then followed it up with a record-setting, 11-under 59 on Saturday.
Even Sunday had its magic. With the wind at his back, Creighton drove the 349-yard, par-4 11th and drained a 5-foot eagle putt that catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard for good.
The win in Wichita vaulted Creighton from No. 74 to No. 16 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list — with the top 20 earning PGA Tour cards — and secured his exempt status on the tour for the remainder of this season and all of next.
“I haven’t processed it all yet,” Creighton said. “I feel like this year I’ve played so much better than what my results would show. I’ve made nine cuts in a row and that’s a hard thing to do on this tour. If you make that many cuts in a row, you would think you would have a chance. But I guess it all came due this week. I had a lot of good breaks and I was able to capitalize on them.”
Creighton shared the 54-hole lead with Quade Cummins entering Sunday, but the momentum quickly shifted when he bogeyed the opening hole and Cummins birdied to create a 2-shot cushion.
“For the first 10 holes, I felt like I was stuck in mud,” Creihgton admitted.
Cummins, a 2021 Oklahoma graduate, stretched his lead to three shots at the turn. But the 11th hole proved decisive.
Creighton’s tee shot settled five feet from the cup on the par-4, while Cummins’ drive caromed off the cart path, and he went on to 3-putt for bogey — a rare 3-shot swing on a single hole.
“It’s a joke where you’re starting some of your golf balls today and how much it’s curving (with the wind),” Creighton said. “I had been playing a little timid for the first 10 holes, so I was like, ‘Alright, at some point, you’re going to have to hit a shot that gets you back into it.’ That was a dream.”
After Cummins bogeyed No. 13 to fall out of the lead, Gonzalez — playing two groups ahead — surged with four birdies on the back nine to briefly take the lead. But Creighton responded with a birdie on the par-5 14th to join him at 17-under.
Creighton wasn’t just battling nerves — he was doing it without his regular caddie. Instead, his best friend, Owen Patterson, was on the bag for the week. Creighton credited Patterson with keeping the mood light, especially when things looked bleak early in the week and again after Saturday’s historic 59.
“His regular caddy probably helps him way more with actual golf stuff like reading the putts and helping him with distances,” Patterson said. “But what I bring to the table is just having a good time out there.”
When the tension reached its peak over the final four holes, Patterson helped steady Creighton.
After Gonzalez bogeyed the 18th, Creighton knew a par on the final hole would secure the win. His approach shot on 18 flew long and settled just off the green. He nearly chipped in, playing the ball well left of the hole and letting it trickle inches away. That left him a nerve-racking par putt — for the win.
“I question (myself) all the time and that’s something I’ve really worked on: believing in myself and believing I can do it,” Creighton said. “Even at points today I didn’t believe I could do it, but this will go a long way for me in believing in myself.”
What once looked like a lost week turned into his first career Korn Ferry Tour victory — and possibly a crucial step toward achieving his lifelong dream of earning a PGA Tour card.
It’s a memory Creighton and Patterson will share for a lifetime.
“This was just an unbelievable experience to have a front-row seat to this,” Patterson said. “As a friend, I couldn’t be more proud of him. This was just a dream week really. It wasn’t easy. It was a rollercoaster, but I guess in a way, that made it even more fun.”
This story was originally published June 22, 2025 at 7:07 PM.
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