Adrian Otaegui lands his fifth DP World Tour title following a narrow one-shot victory in China.
Adrian Otaegui overturned a five-shot deficit to secure his fifth DP World Tour title at the Volvo China Open and earn a spot in the US PGA Championship later this month.
The Spaniard entered the third and final round five strokes behind Swede Sebastian Söderberg, who had sat on the lead since Friday after Saturday’s third round was cancelled due to thunder and lightning in the Shenzhen area.
Brighter conditions greeted the field for the final round at Hidden Grace Golf Club and Otaegui made a terrific start with four birdies and five pars on his front nine to move into a share of the lead at the turn.
Another gain at the par-5 13th, followed by back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 saw him hit the front for the first time at 18-under par.
The 31-year-old held his nerve to par the par-4 18th hole and sign for a 7-under par closing 65 and secure a one-shot victory over three-time DP World Tour winner Guido Migliozzi, who finished second.
Söderberg went out of bounds with his final tee-shot for a closing double bogey, which saw him slide into a tie for third alongside Englishman Paul Waring and Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach at 16-under par.
Otaegui becomes the first Spanish player to win the Volvo China Open and climbs 46 places to 13th on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
He also catapults to third place on the Asian Swing Rankings to earn a coveted spot in the US PGA Championship alongside Söderberg, who won the Rankings, and Japan’s Keita Nakajima who finished second.
