Drew Nesbitt won a Korn Ferry Tour event on Sunday, earning $180,000 (US) for the biggest win of his career
Local golfer Drew Nesbitt has earned the biggest victory of his career, winning a Korn Ferry Tour event in Springfield, Ill., on Sunday.
The victory on the PGA Tour’s development circuit, puts the 31-year-old from Shanty Bay in position to challenge for a spot on the top golf circuit in the world as the season progresses.
Nesbitt made birdie on the 16th hole Sunday to break a tie for the lead, then two clutch pars to win by a shot. He earned a $180,000 (US) and moved to 22nd on the Korn Ferry points list.
The top 20 at the end of season earn their PGA Tour card for 2027.
Nesbitt arrived in the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln unlikely to even play. He was listed as the eighth alternate and was about to drive to Wichita, Kan., to play in a PGA Tour Americas event — the circuit from which Nesbitt graduated last season.
But a spot opened up in the Land of Lincoln and Nesbitt took full advantage, shooting 11-under 60 on Thursday to take the early lead. Nesbitt briefly dropped to second on Friday, but retook top spot on Saturday and never looked back.
Sleeping on the lead, as nervy as existence as there is in sports, Nesbitt made seven birdies on Sunday, including two immediately after his two bogeys.
He signed for a five-under-par 66 and a four-round total of 25-under, 259.
The victory now ensures that Nesbitt can remain on the Korn Ferry Tour next year if he falls short of the top-20 cutoff for PGA Tour cards. He will also gain entry in the four playoff events that offer another pathway to golf’s top circuit.
Those four tournaments, which begin in September, also offer increased purses ($1.5 million, $270,000 winner’s cheque) meaning that Nesbitt now can be playing for some serious cash on top of the $200,000-plus he has already earned this year.
The win marks a remarkable turnaround for Nesbitt. Last year, he was working as the director of instruction at National Pines just across the Barrie/Innisfil border, while trying to maintain a place on the PGA Tour Americas – the circuit below the Korn Tour and two below the PGA Tour.
A couple of high finishes on the PGA Tour Americas early in the summer, followed by a huge victory in Victoria, B.C., in September, clinched his Korn Ferry Tour card for 2026.
Still working and giving lessons at National Pines and travelling all over the Western Hemisphere to maintain both gigs, Nesbitt’s life suddenly changed. He moved from the local area to Jacksonville, Fla., where the PGA Tour is based to prepare for the 2026 season
Though he had shown flashes this season, including making a hole-in-one, he was facing the possibility of having to drop down a level on golf’s pecking order to get a regular place to play.
Sunday’s win brings clarity — and a healthy paycheque — as Nesbitt can now realistically set his schedule and take aim at getting his PGA Tour card rather than worrying where he is going to play from week to week.
It has been quite a journey. Now 13 years as a pro, Nesbitt bypassed college after graduating from Eastview Secondary School.
Until golf took hold, Nesbitt played on a particularly good AAA Colts minor hockey team that included future NHL draft picks Zach Nastasiuk and Chris Bigras. Bradley Latour, a Memorial Cup champion with the Oshawa Generals 11 years ago, and Nesbitt were also minor hockey teammates growing up in Barrie.
In an odd bit of symmetry that shows how hockey careers tend to play out thick and fast and golf takes much longer, Bigras, Nastasiuk and Latour are now all retired, while Nesbitt is about to embark on his biggest opportunity.