The 29-year-old held a one-stroke advantage over Frenchman Julien Guerrier heading into the final round and, while he did relinquish the outright lead early on after a bogey at the third hole, he soon extended his lead and ruthlessly hammered home a dominant victory.

Three successive birdies from the fourth and another at the ninth meant he was five clear at the turn on the Twenty Ten Course and Shinkwin never relented, while Guerrier fell back as the Frenchman struggled on the final day.

A couple of birdies on the way home earned Shinkwin a one under final round 70 and a 12 under par winning total.

Connor Syme had mounted a late charge with an eagle at the part five 11th followed by a trio of consecutive birdies from the 15th hole, but it was not enough to put serious pressure on the runaway leader and the Scot settled for a runner-up finish on eight under par, signing for a closing 68.

Callum Shinkwin was the only player in the field to shoot all four rounds under par ?#CazooOpen pic.twitter.com/9syyLc35FM

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 7, 2022

“I feel great, even though I had a few shots of a lead heading into the back nine it’s still not easy, especially when Connor then made a charge,” Shinkwin said. “There was a lot of pressure still and even down the last, it’s not an easy hole, a lot of people have made a high number there even if they’ve hit the fairway. It’s still one of those ones you have to commit to with your shots.

“Connor didn’t really come into it until he eagled 11, he was four under at the time, then he didn’t do anything straight after that. But then he birdied 15, 16 and 17 and the 17th was the big one for me, holing that par putt to guarantee a three-shot lead going down the last.

“The scores haven’t been there before this but this week was my week. Winning anywhere is fantastic, it’s a great feeling, winning with family and friends here it means so much more.”

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The post DP World Tour: Callum Shinkwin in cruise control to claim Wales Cazoo Open title at Celtic Manor appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The duo traded blows throughout the day, with Guerrier leading for the early exchanges having entered the weekend two clear, but four birdies on the back nine nudged Shinkwin one shot ahead on 11-under, the Englishman carding the joint lowest round of the week with a six under 65.

Guerrier certainly did not give the lead away, having opened with a birdie and picked up two more before the turn, but his first bogey of the round at the 16th meant he surrendered his place at the top for the first time all day.
A third-round 68, however, left him right in the mix for a maiden DP World Tour title, especially as he sits five clear of third place going into the final day.

Connor Syme was the closest challenger on six under after the Scot picked up three shots in the final four holes to sign for a 68 and move to a five under total, six shots off Shinkwin’s lead.
“I’m delighted, 65 was a really good score today,” said Shinkwin. “I’m playing really well and didn’t make any mistakes and I’ve come out of it with the lead.

“The game has been very good for a long time but it was just a matter of clicking into place. It felt like it was great three months ago but the results weren’t there. Recently I’ve been playing really nicely and had a few pretty good results but not capitalising on how I’m playing.

“I never really paid any attention to what Julien was doing, although he was playing really well, I just tried to make sure I played my own ball and my own game, and whatever I shot I shot and that’s what I did and towards the end I took the lead.”

Guerrier added: “I’m pretty happy, to play under par on this course is always a good thing. Of course it felt a little like a match play, but my main goal was to remain focused on my game. If Callum is playing well that’s not my concern, really good for him of course, but I tried to remain focused on my game and stay in the zone. It’s a long road so we will see what happens tomorrow.”

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The post DP World Tour: Shinkwin and Guerrier set for Wales Cazoo Open showdown at Celtic Manor appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

He followed up his opening 67 with a 68 on day two for a seven-under total and a lead over England’s Callum Shinkwin and American Johannes Veerman.

Shinkwin mixed seven birdies with four bogeys in an impressive second-round 68, while Veerman holed his approach shot at the 18th for a closing eagle to secure a 68 of his own.

Jack Senior, Espen Kofstad, Marcus Armitage and Thomas Detry were another shot back on four-under.

Guerrier is hunting his first DP World Tour victory, having gone close at the Cazoo Classic at Hillside Golf Club last month.

He said: “It was a really good day for me. My driving and my iron game were not very good, I was really far from the pins but I only made one three-putt — my putting was really good and that was the key today.

“I played some bad shots but I made some good shots, otherwise I would not have shot three-under. I try to avoid watching the leaderboard, I try to focus on my concentration and it’s a very demanding course.

“Anything can happen at every hole and so I just try to play safe and in the good areas on a difficult golf course.

“My learning from Hillside is to stay patient, stay focused and concentrate on your own game, that’s all.”

David Howell, making his 700th DP World Tour appearance this week, comfortably made the cut on two over after shooting a level-par 71.

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The post Wales Cazoo Open: Julien Guerrier leads by two at Celtic Manor appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Welshman finished just one shot out of a play-off at the 2001 Wales Open at Celtic Manor, the same season he graduated from the European Challenge Tour and set in motion a storied DP World Tour career.

He has since claimed three wins, sealed the winning point for Europe at the 2014 Ryder Cup and become a firm fan favourite along the way.

But it all started in Newport and the 46-year-old was delighted to be back at the 2010 Ryder Cup venue.

“It’s big because when I first started playing professionally on the DP World Tour this was one of my first invites to come down here and play and it was fantastic,” he said at Celtic Manor.

“I finished fourth and just missed a play-off by a shot in my second invite in 2001 so it’s great to come back here.

“The ball is running, it’s a bit firmer and faster, the greens are running very well, they’re holding but they’re putting great as well so they’re quite quick.

“Overall it’s in great shape, the rough is up in places, you don’t want to hit it too wide. It’s pretty fair and looking like it’s going to put up a stern test.”

History of the @CazooOpen ?#CazooOpen pic.twitter.com/Y4jTD3m1oy

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 3, 2022

After a spell in the doldrums at the end of the last decade, Donaldson has come roaring back to form, last season achieving his best finish on the DP World Tour Rankings since finishing fourth in 2014.

He missed the cut in his last start at The 150th Open Championship but earned his spot at St Andrews by finishing sixth at the Genesis Scottish Open and is happy with the way his game is trending.

“The Scottish Open was big, I knew I needed to play well to get in The Open,” he said. “I sadly ran out of steam at The Open, that was my fourth week in a row so it didn’t go as well as I planned.

“But the Scottish Open was fantastic, the Irish Open the week before I finished 20th so it was just building nicely, it was a good run of events and hopefully I can take that form into this week.

“I’ve just had two weeks off which was great to spend some time with the family. It was nice to have the rest, be able to go again and get ready for another big run.”

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The post DP World Tour: Jamie Donaldson feeling good on home return to Wales for Cazoo Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.