Northwest’s Alistair Docherty finds way to Korn Ferry winners circle

By Tim Martinez, Vancouver Columbian

Alistair Docherty of Vancouver picked a good spot for his first Korn Ferry Tour victory.

The 2012 Union High School graduate made a short birdie on the final hole Sunday to win the Korn Ferry Tour Argentine Open in Buenos Aires, earning a spot in the British Open this summer at Royal Birkdale.

Docherty hit wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the final hole for a 5-under 65, giving him a one-shot victory over S.Y. Noh and Chris Forte.

“It’s been a very crazy last few years,” an emotional Docherty told the Korn Ferry Tour. “(I’ve been) working really hard mentally. I think I executed everything this week mentally more than physically. And I’m so happy to be standing on top.”

Docherty was the leader or co-leader after every round, carding 22-under total for the first time as a pro.

Now in his 10th year as a pro after graduating from Chico State in 2016, Docherty, 31, has had a grinding career as a pro, taking breaks to work as a caddy to help pay the bills. Things appeared to take a turn for the good in 2024 when he put himself in position to earn a PGA Tour card.

But at the Korn Ferry Championship, that season’s final event, he fell one shot short of earning that tour card with a top-30 tour season finish.

Picking up another chance a few months later at the PGA Q-School tournament, Docherty again fell one shot short of his tour PGA card.

The 2025 season was highlighted by qualifying for the U.S. Open for the first time. That came just a few days after being involved in a serious auto accident that sent him to the hospital.

With lingering effects from the crash, Docherty tumbled in the Korn Ferry standings, finishing 50th for the season.

So far this season, Docherty tied for second at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in the tour’s second event of the season back in January. But Docherty had missed the cuts in the other three events he played in prior to this weekend.