Julien Guerrier Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Nicolai Højgaard among leading trio in Dubai

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 16:02:50 +0000

Nicolai Højgaard produced a back-nine birdie blitz to join French duo Julien Guerrier and Matthieu Pavon at the top of the leaderboard after day one of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

The Ryder Cup star was one over after six holes and level par as he made the turn at Jumeirah Golf Estates but reeled off five birdies in six holes to sign for a 67 and get to five under.

Earlier, Earth Course debutant Guerrier was bogey-free in making the same score at the fifth Rolex Series of the event of the season before in-form countryman Pavon finished birdie-birdie to join him with a blemish-free effort of his own.

Another Frenchman in Antoine Rozner was a shot off the lead alongside Swede Jens Dantorp and Pole Adrian Meronk, one clear of Højgaard’s Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Robert MacIntyre and South Korea’s Tom Kim.

Dane Højgaard finished fourth over the Earth Course in his only previous appearance at this event in 2021, catapulting himself into the top ten on that season’s final Rankings.

Seven top tens in the 2023 season helped him earn his place in the European Team that defeated the United States in Rome and he had his best result of the campaign finishing second at last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge.

He has brought that form to Dubai and revealed his Ryder Cup experience had given him the hunger to go to the very top as he looks for a first Rolex Series win.

“Spending time with the best players in the world, fighting for a common goal was amazing, and just being around those guys, seeing what they do, what do I do different, what do I need to work on,” he said.

“It gave me a lot of confidence going into the last end of the season here. You want to play with those guys but you also want to beat them.

“I played really well today. Drove it well from hole number one to 18, even though it was a little bit of a circus on 18, felt really solid. I got on a run. You know there’s a few chances out there, so it’s just about keep hitting good shots and stay present and I feel I did a good job today.”

Højgaard bogeyed the fourth after finding sand off the tee but took advantage of the par-five sixth before his putter came to life on the back nine.

He holed a 25-footer from off the green at the tenth and followed it with an 18-foot putt on the next. An up-and-down on the par-five 14th was then sandwiched by putts of 16 and 20 feet as he surged up the leaderboard.

Guerrier is making his first appearance at the season-ending event after qualifying thanks to three top threes, including his best DP World Tour career finish of second at the Porsche European Open.

He left himself 14 feet at the third, six feet at the fifth and holed an 18-footer at the eighth before hitting a smart approach into the tenth and making the most of the 14th.

That performance belied his debutant status and he admitted that caddie Chris Liley, a veteran of over 20 years on Tour, was a big help.

“I just tried to be really disciplined because I don’t really know this course,” said Guerrier. “My caddie has more experience on this course than me, so I just listen to him. I try to play in the zone and I did it correctly.

“It’s a really tough course. It’s very demanding from the tee because if you are in the rough, it’s really difficult to hit the greens and it’s not too firm, the greens, actually. So it’s more friendly.”

Pavon recently claimed his first DP World Tour title at the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid and has since added two further top 20s in his last three events.

He put approaches to six feet at the fifth and 11th, took advantage of the 14th and then almost aced the 17th before holing a 40-footer on the last.

“What I’ve really released is now I know with my team, we were working on the right way,” he said. “For sure, I had a great, solid year, many top tens but I was missing something to get my first victory and I finally got it in Madrid.

“It’s more confirmation of what we achieve with my team so far and it was nice to have it done a few weeks ago and put me in a good way mentally to play these last two tournaments of the year.”

Meronk is already a three-time winner this season and he holed his second at the fifth from 130 yards for an eagle, the highlight of a round that also contained four birdies and two bogeys.

Dantorp played his way into this event last week and he carded six birdies and two bogeys, with Rozner dropping a single shot in his 68.

Kim was the only bogey-free player in the group at three under, which sat a shot ahead of English pair Dan Bradbury and Tyrrell Hatton, Swede Alexander Björk and Dane Thorbjørn Olesen.

Rory McIlroy has already wrapped up the Race to Dubai title and he was at one under, a shot clear of playing partner and defending champion Jon Rahm.

Image: DP World Tour

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DP World Tour: Callum Shinkwin in cruise control to claim Wales Cazoo Open title at Celtic Manor

Matt Smith — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 06:25:36 +0000

By Matt Smith
After three days of nip-and-tuck, Callum Shinkwin ran away with the Wales Cazoo Open as the Englishman cruised to a four-shot victory at The Celtic Manor Resort.

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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DP World Tour: Shinkwin and Guerrier set for Wales Cazoo Open showdown at Celtic Manor

Matt Smith — Sun, 07 Aug 2022 07:55:56 +0000

By Matt Smith
Callum Shinkwin and Julien Guerrier will battle it out for the title at the Wales Cazoo Open after an enthralling Day 3 duel at The Celtic Manor Resort saw them both pull well clear of the field, with Shinkwin holding a one-stroke advantage over his French playing partner.

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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Wales Cazoo Open: Julien Guerrier leads by two at Celtic Manor

Matt Smith — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 06:55:46 +0000

By Matt Smith
Frenchman Julien Guerrier goes into the weekend at the Cazoo Wales Open with a two-stroke lead at Celtic Manor.

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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DP World Tour: Richie Ramsay keeps promise to daughter and is top of the Hillside at Cazoo Classic

Matt Smith — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 05:23:38 +0000

By Matt Smith
Richie Ramsay ended his seven-year title drought by claiming a one-stroke victory over Paul Waring in the DP World Tour Cazoo Classic at Hillside Golf Club in England.

The Scotsman holed a tricky par putt at the 18th to take the crown. Overnight leader Julien Guerrier had been the man to catch for most of the day but birdies at the 14th, 15th and 17th saw Ramsay head to the last with a one-shot lead.

The 39-year-old missed the fairway off the 18th tee but managed to give himself an eight-foot par putt, which he duly holed to sign for a closing 69, finish the tournament on 14-under par and return to the DP World Tour winner’s circle for the first time since his Trophée Hassan II victory in March 2015.

The win will help Ramsay banish the memory of his near-miss at the British Masters in May, where a closing double-bogey ended his chances of victory at The Belfry.

Local favourite Waring finished alone in second on 13-under thanks to his Sunday 70, with Guerrier in a five-way tie for third another shot back alongside Marcus Kinhult, Robin Petersson, Daan Huizing and Grant Forrest.

“The biggest thing for me was I made a promise to my daughter, and I don’t break promises to her,” Ramsay said. “I said I would get her a trophy and this one’s for her. It just feels unbelievable. I’ve had some bad times over the last couple of years but I kept believing, I knew my game was good.

“I know about what happened at The Belfry. But it’s links golf and I feel like I’ve always got an advantage when I play links golf.

"Winning is everything. It's what matters in this sport."@RamsayGolf | #CazooClassic pic.twitter.com/TQWEYyopw7

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 24, 2022

“There’s nothing better than holing a putt under the gun — when it matters, when the tournament is on the line. For me, winning is everything, it’s what matters in the sport. I felt the nerves coming down the stretch, played great, and just to play well under the gun. Obviously, I got a bit emotional there at the end, but I haven’t won since my daughter was born and that’s six years.

“That one’s for Olivia. Hopefully she’s watching. [My wife] Angela’s been brilliant. She’s never given up on me, sent me a message this morning telling me that she was really proud of me in whatever I accomplish. It’s just great to get over the line. What a feeling as well, the way I did it, to hole that putt on the last. It’s just hours and hours of practice and it comes down to one shot and I managed to do it. It doesn’t matter what happens now, I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”

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Dutch delight as Joost Luiten wins in Muscat

Kent Gray — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 12:52:21 +0000

Getty Images

By Kent Gray
On the homepage of Joost Luiten’s own website, the Dutchman boldly claims he’s “at my best when I’m under pressure”. Quite.

The 32-year-old again held his nerve down the stretch on a Sunday to win the inaugural NBO Oman Open by two strokes from Englishman Chris Wood. Luiten started the final round at Al Mouj tied for the lead at -12 and while Frenchman Julien Guerrier faded to solo third with a 71 and Englishman Matthew Southgate dipped to a share of ninth after a 75, a closing 68 saw Luiten claim a sixth European Tour title.

It also saw the world No.90 extend his winning record when leading through 54 holes to an utterly impressive five from seven even if he needed all his closing qualities to get the job done in Muscat.

He’s done it! ? @joostluitenofficial wins the #NBOOManOpen.

A post shared by European Tour (@europeantour) on Feb 18, 2018 at 4:28am PST

Three successive birdies from the second saw Luiten race to a three shot lead but bogeys at 7 and 8 enabled Wood draw level at -13. Robert Rock, a blast from the past who counts the 2012 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship among his two European Tour titles, briefly made it a three-way tie at the top but three closing bogeys ended his challenge.

The stage was left to Luiten and Wood but everytime the latter (playing in the penultimate group) birdied, Luiten responded immediately, decisively so on the par 5 16th. A bogey on the next hole was Wood’s only blemish in a closing 69 and gave Luiten a two shot buffer down the 72nd hole.

From the runner-up to the winner ??

A nice touch from @Chris3Wood… pic.twitter.com/UF2upVxBsf

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 18, 2018

Luiten’s last win came at his home KLM Open in 2016. He was 36th in last season’s Race to Dubai in a consistent season featuring two top-10s, a runner-up finish to host Sergio Garcia at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters the bitter-sweet highlight. Another tilt at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship now beckons with Luiten rocketing up to 10th in the 2018 Race to Dubai standings after starting the week on the bubble in 60th place.

It earns the Dutchman a start in the March 1-4 WGC-Mexico Championship and an outside shot at a Ryder Cup debut in Paris this September. The performance didn’t go unnoticed by European captain Thomas Bjorn who celebrated his 47th birthday with a share of 31st place.

Congratulations to @joostluiten on a great performance in Oman!!!
Top class golf on top class golf course.

— Thomas Bjorn (@thomasbjorngolf) February 18, 2018

“This is why you play golf, to hold trophies,” Luiten told EuropeanTour.com afterwards.

“It’s always tough to win out here, all these guys are so good and they keep putting pressure on you.Down the stretch I hit some nice shots, I made some nice putts and it was a nice battle with my friend Woody. I did drop a couple of silly ones going out. My aim after that was just to create chances and hopefully take a few.

“The putt on 16 really closed the door on the other guys. I wasn’t tempted to go for the green in two. I played that hole smart. As for the Ryder Cup, I need to win a couple more times to have a chance. But if I play more good golf, you never know what might happen.”

Luiten is a confirmed starter for next week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club where South Korea’s Jeunghun Wang will defend.

The final leaderboard:

?? -16 Luiten
??????? -14 Wood
?? -13 Guerrier
?? -11 Han
?? -11 Campillo
?? -11 Levy
?? -10 Zanotti
??????? -10 Rock

All Scores: https://t.co/ce7cATJvNA pic.twitter.com/na0pFIdCto

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 18, 2018

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Snakes and Ladders has Southgate, Luiten and Guerrier tied heading into Sunday in Muscat

Kent Gray — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 06:01:06 +0000

By Kent Gray
After a moving day that more closely resembled a game of snakes and ladders, good luck trying to figure out who is going to cling on to the top of the NBO Oman Open leaderboard and claim the European Tour’s newest title.

Frenchman Julien Guerrier, Joost Luiten of The Netherlands and Englishman Matthew Southgate will start the final round of the $1.75 million event tied for the lead at 12 under par, a shot ahead of Chris Wood. Every one within five strokes of the lead – 13 players in all – will fancy their chances but if Saturday’s topsy-turvy scoring at Al Mouj is any indication, the final round in Muscat is going to a dramatic shootout peppered with red, blue and even black numbers.

If you’re looking for momentum going into Sunday, look no further than the trio of leaders.

Guerrier, Guerrier and Southgate took turns to birdie the testy par-4 18th to cap rounds of 66, 66 and 69 respectively. Southgate’s gain was achieved with the longest putt and was arguably the most impressive, a gritty way to sign of a schizophrenic round which saw him start with three successive birdies to go from two behind starting the third round to three ahead as overnight leader Matthieu Pavon was bitten by the snake early and faded to a 75.

Can he tie the lead?

Yes he can. @SouthgateMatt gets to 12 under par too. pic.twitter.com/LILGeDzCpl

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 17, 2018

But Southgate, suddenly losing his already quick rhythm, then dropped four shots in the space of four holes before a birdie on nine readied the ship and lightened the Englishman’s equilibrium.

“It was quite funny really, we birdied the ninth and I walked off and said to my caddie Gary, ‘that was nine pars Gaz, I don’t know what you’re talking about’,” said Southgate.

“He laughed and I said, ‘I’m serious, we can create any outcome that we want in our mind and we’ve just shot level par for nine holes so let’s just pretend that we’ve made nine solid pars, that we haven’t holed a putt, haven’t made a birdie and let’s just start again on the tenth.

“That’s exactly what we did and we executed the game plan and I’ve got a 69 on the card, so it was a good day’s work.”

Southgate, who is in the hunt for his first title, resolved to take the same positive mindset into Sunday.

“I’d love to get a win over the line but ultimately I need to learn everything I can moving forwards,” he said. “I think that’s really important tomorrow – to be open minded enough that whatever the outcome, we’ve got to take new things on board and realise that this might be a position that we might end up in a few more times, maybe this season or the rest of my career so that’s the goal – hit good shots, make good decisions but learn stuff as well.”

Guerrier, who won twice on the Challenge Tour last season to secure his European Tour card, bookended his round with birdies and while there was an eagle on the 12th, his 66 was blemished with a pair of front nine bogeys.

MUSCAT, OMAN – FEBRUARY 17: Julien Guerrier of France celebtares his birdie on the opening hole during the third round of the NBO Oman Open at Al Mouj Golf on February 17, 2018 in Muscat, Oman. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

He’ll look to cash in on his Al Mouj knowledge Sunday.

“I’ve played four times here so I know the course quite well and I think it made the difference as on some holes you can go for it, and some you can’t, so I think it helped.

“I’ve played a lot of years on the Challenge Tour – I’ve played a couple of years on the European Tour in the past too and I want to stay here now.”

Of all the leaders, Luiten was the tidiest on moving day and crucially has the pedigree to kick on from successive 66s.

“It was another perfect day,” said the 32-year-old who is searching for his sixth win on the European Tour and his first since capturing his home KLM Open in 2016.

MUSCAT, OMAN – FEBRUARY 16: Joost Luiten of Netherlands finnishes off his round on the par four 9th green during the second round of the NBO Oman Open at Al Mouj Golf on February 16, 2018 in Muscat, Oman. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

“There was some wind in the afternoon, but it was a light breeze which cooled things down beautifully. I played good golf. I played solid and did not get into any trouble. One bogey and seven birdies…what more do you want?”

Wood seemed to be cruising along until a pair of bogeys on the 17th and 18th proved his snakebite. He was lucky though – a members bounce off the rocks on the 18th could have go the other way into the Gulf of Oman and he is very much in the mix for his first win since the 2016 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after missing three successive cuts to start 2018.

The luckiest tee shot of 2018.@Chris3Wood ? pic.twitter.com/nmJ4kzXz9d

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 17, 2018

Dubai-domiciled Spaniard Adrian Oteagui sits at 10 under after a faultless 66 while Frenchman Alexander Levy, the highest ranked player in the field at No.62, signed for a 67 to get to -9. Levy has added motivation to ride the ladder Sunday – currently 11^th in the Race to Dubai standings, he needs to squeeze into the top 10 to secure a spot in next month’s WGC-Mexico Championship.

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