Canadian Thomas Giroux earned medallist honours with a final round of 3-under 69 and 9-under total at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club outside of Valdosta, Plunkett (70) tied second with Nate Jordi (70) one stroke back.

Others to earn status for the upcoming season were Mitchell Bowlin (67), Austin Gean (70), Caleb Shetler (73), John Fahey (71) and Alex Scott (72).

Plunkett spent five years in the US Army, including tours to Afghanistan, before making a return to golf when the COVID-19 outbreak afforded time to play again.

He had a year on the Korn Ferry Tour, has status on the Asian Tour this year and played The Open at Royal Birkdale after finishing fourth at Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links.

Plunkett played all four rounds at The Open, which necessitated a frantic mission to Kinderlou Forest through Florida that included a stop-off at DICK’s Sporting Goods to purchase a golf trolley for four hot days in Georgia.

Admitting he was “delirious” after arriving at 10:30 pm Monday night for an 8:30 am Round 1 tee time on Tuesday, Plunkett can now look forward to a summer Down Under.

“I was definitely a little delirious Round 1, but as the week’s gone on, started to feel a little bit back to normal,” said Plunkett.

“I’ve never been (to Australia), but all my Aussie friends keep telling me the coffee’s the best in the world, so I’ve got to see if they’re pulling my leg or not about that.

“I have Asian Tour status, so I’m trying to figure out the balance of the two moving forward, but I’m really excited to get out to Australia and get on the links out there.”

Giroux has played on the PGA TOUR Americas circuit for the past three years, with a best finish a tie for 10th at the TotalPlay Championship in 2024.

A graduate of Oakland University, Giroux was 6-under through 11 holes of the final round, hanging on to medallist honours despite late bogeys at 12, 13 and 16.

“I’ve got nowhere to play right now, so it feels good to get some full status out on a tour and have a place to play the rest of the year,” said Giroux.

“Been playing PGA Tour Americas and Korn Ferry Tour. It’s a great tour but looking for a little bit of a change and never been to Australia, so it’ll be a lot of fun.

“I’m honestly just super excited to get down there. Just kind of the style of golf you guys play, good competition down there as well.”

Jordi got a taste of that competition with two starts on limited status last season.

After missing the cut at the PNG Open in his first Official World Golf Ranking event, Jordi announced himself with a round of 8-under 63 to lead the NT PGA Championship through 36 holes.

Although he would drop out of contention over the weekend, Jordi is delighted to have the chance to return with a better playing category.

“I’m looking forward to getting back into the heat of the tournament and the last few tee times,” said Jordi.

“That was so awesome getting the opportunity under cameras and people actually following you.

“It was good to really test my game under the jitters, see where the holes were in my game and be able to come out today and keep calm, under pressure and play good golf.”

The 2026/2027 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season begins with the PNG Open from August 27-30 with the summer of golf to get into full swing from The CKB WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie Golf Course from October 8-11.