Nguyen Minh Tri wins Lexus Challenge 2026: 265 strokes, a birdie on the final hole and a new milestone for Vietnamese golf

At approximately 11:47 a.m. on August 13, 2026, the BRG Da Nang Golf Club grew quiet when Nguyen Minh Tri stopped on the 18th fairway. His ball was stuck in thick rough. He took a 9-iron from caddie Tran Van Thanh, then ignored the flag and aimed instead at a white tee placed near the left bunker. The resulting shot landed on the green and stopped less than 80 centimeters from the hole. Tri calmly made the short birdie putt, knelt down, touched the grass, then burst into tears after realizing he had just won the Lexus Challenge 2026. Official results showed Tri finished on 265 strokes, 23 under par, after four rounds of 65, 68, 64 and 68. He beat runner-up Nguyen Anh Minh by two strokes. This was Tri's third Lexus Challenge title and the first time in more than a decade that a Vietnamese male golfer successfully defended a national-tier title. The victory was not built on spectacular power. Tri ranked only 23rd in driving distance, averaging 295 yards, and 11th in putting average with 27.6 putts per round. His decisive strength was saving par from around the green: he successfully converted 31 of 34 attempts, a 91.2 percent rate. He also changed his strategy during the third round, replacing his driver with fairway woods on windy holes to keep balls in the fairway. Tri's most memorable shot came on the 12th hole in the third round, when he saved par from a spot near the lake using a high 60-degree wedge that stopped one meter from the flag. He explained later that he had learned patience during a painful period in 2026 when a lumbar disc injury prevented him from swinging for two months. The 32-year-old golfer from Nam Dinh did not win with flashy records. Instead, he demonstrated that discipline, consistency and emotional control matter more than raw distance. His win sends a strong message to Vietnamese golf: youthful power can produce brilliant scorecards, but mature decision-making creates champions.