A five-under final round of 66 took Campillo to 18-under for the week and earned a two-stroke victory over Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.

Their respective compatriots Santiago Tarrio and Ryo Hisatsune shared third on 15-under.

Campillo had finished with four straight birdies on Saturday and a similar run — four in five — on Sunday’s front nine kept him in control of the tournament, the highlight a pitch to five feet at the seventh.

Another gain at the 10th was given straight back on the 11th but a succession of pars kept him out in front, a fine approach to within 10 feet at the 16th keeping the run going and helping hold off the challenge of Kawamura.

Hisatsune set the early clubhouse target at 15-under, narrowly missing out on a closing eagle that would have taken him within one of Campillo, who again put himself in prime position on the 17th green.

A birdie there, with Kawamura missing his attempt, gave him a three-shot lead going up the last and the opportunity to knock a routine iron and pair of wedges into the heart of the green, a two-putt par sealing his third DP World Tour win and ending a three-year wait since his victory at the 2020 Qatar Masters.

Ballesteros won this event in 1978, with Campillo the fourth Spanish winner after José María Cañizares and Jordi Garcia Pinto in 1984 and 2013 respectively.

He said: “It’s hard to put my name under those names. Where I am from, the little town, I am very proud.

“Obviously it’s always nice to win a golf tournament but to put my name on the same trophy as Seve is obviously more special for a Spaniard.

“We will (celebrate) when I get back. I will try to enjoy the moment now, sign the scorecard and just get ready for the next tournament.

“You know how golf is, you win now and then the next day you are not that good any more.”

Kawamura made three successive birdies on the front nine and set up a final push with one at the 15th, but was unable to capitalise on half-chances at the next two holes before a closing birdie took him second outright.

Tarrio shrugged off a bogey at the eighth with four birdies on an unblemished back nine for a closing 66.

Hisatsune’s final round was one stroke better after a birdie-birdie finish for the third day in succession.

Lukas Nemecz and Borja Virto shared fifth place on 14 under, with Robert MacIntyre in a group a shot further back after he could only manage a closing 70 while playing in the final group with Campillo and Kawamura.

Ashley Chesters eagled the final hole to lift himself seven places into a share of seventh with MacIntyre, Jayden Schaper and Julien Brun.

The post Jorge Campillo follows in Seve’s footsteps to claim Magical Kenya Open crown appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Spaniard began the day five shots off the lead but charged through the field with a flawless 63 which contained eight birdies, setting the early clubhouse target at 13-under.

The two-time DP World Tour winner was nearly overtaken at the top of the leaderboard in dramatic fashion as Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre almost holed his approach at the 18th for an albatross.

MacIntyre’s wedge shot hit the hole before running around 10 feet past, and although he was unable to convert his eagle putt, the 2022 Italian Open winner made a closing birdie to sit alone in second, one stroke behind Campillo.

Jayden Schaper and Masahiro Kawamura were then in a tie for third on 11-under.

Speaking about his near-miss on the 18th, MacIntyre said: “Mike (caddie Mike Thomson) was adamant I should stay in the middle of the green but I had a wedge in my hand — I’m not really backing away from a pin with a wedge.

“That’s the way I play golf and it was just good to see it be up there close.”

The post Jorge Campillo leads by one ahead of final round in Kenya appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On a sunny yet windy day at Steenberg Golf Club, the 2022 AIG Women’s Open champion began the day four ahead of German teen Noja, but that lead was trimmed early on with a bogey on her first hole.

However, the South African bounced back with a birdie on the second before adding three more on the fourth, fifth and 18th holes to reach a total of 18-under-par, as Noja faded to settle for 14-under alongside Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino.

Finishing in style ?

Buhai closes with a birdie to post a 69 (-3) and move to -18 after three rounds ?#RaiseOurGame | #InvestecSAWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/xYaLUTpqqy

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) March 10, 2023

“I’m happy with my day,” said Buhai. “I didn’t feel very well today, there’s a gastro-bug going around and unfortunately, I came down with it last night.

“For me to hang in there mentally, I think I did a really good job. The shot on one, I hit it where I wanted to and the wind switched and it fell out of the air. I made the swing and that’s all I can do.

“The wind was very difficult to deal with. I hit quite a few shots, even on nine I thought it was going to be stiff and the next minute it fell out of the sky. The wind was supposed to be down and switched back into.

“The thing you have to do at that moment is you’ve made the swing and done what you’ve wanted to and accept the outcome. That’s what I did well. I got up-and-down to keep myself in it. On the back nine, I hit a lot of solid shots. There was one bad swing on the par-five, but I hit some good putts that didn’t drop today as they have the last few days.”

Buhai is a four-time winner on the LET and has won this title three times previously — the last time being in 2018.

With a four-shot lead heading into the final day, the major champion knows she will still have to play well.

She explained: “The goal was to try and come and win this week. It would be huge, to win your home open is a huge honour. I’ve been able to do it before and to be able to do it again and tick it off would be great.

“Chiara played great today, she came at me hard in the beginning and so did Maggie [Simmermacher], I know I’m going to have to keep my foot on the gas but at the same time play my game and stay patient.”

Pelaez Trivino, who is fourth in the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, fired the joint-best round of the day with a 66 to move up the leaderboard.

“It was a really good moving day,” said the LET winner. “We started off with a couple of birdies which was nice because it was very windy at the start.”

Tiger line from @thechiaranoja ?#RaiseOurGame | #InvestecSAWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/Cd2eZ2sRlv

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) March 10, 2023

Dubai school pupil Noja produced a round of 69 with six birdies and three bogeys on her scorecard.

“I think I played a lot better than I scored,” she said. “I’m a little sick and I got a little sloppy and tired. On the back nine, I could really feel it.

“I was just trying to get across 18 and go to sleep and recover for tomorrow and try to keep myself in contention as much as possible. I’m really gutted that putt on 18 didn’t drop because I hit it and thought it was going in.

“It’s a positive I played how I did. I was pretty determined to try and keep in contention today. It’s a shame I couldn’t hold it together as much as I wanted to on the back nine, I tried my best today and I’m going to try and sleep and come out stronger tomorrow.”

Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher sits in outright fourth place on 13-under-par after carding a round of 67.

Italy’s Alessandra Fanali and Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson share fifth place on nine-under-par with South Africa’s Casandra Alexander in ouright seventh on eight-under after she made an ace on the second hole.

Six players are in a tie for eighth place on seven-under including Spain’s Marta Sanz Barrio, who also produced the joint-best round of the day with a 66, English duo Alice Hewson and Eleanor Givens, India’s Vani Kapoor, Scotland’s Michele Thomson and South Africa’s Kaleigh Telfer.

The post Buhai maintains advantage over Dubai’s Noja at Investec South African Women’s Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Dylan Mostert’s fine recent form continued on day one of the 2023 Magical Kenya Open, as he fired an opening 64 to share the lead with John Catlin.

South African Mostert won his maiden European Challenge Tour title at the Nelson Mandela Bay Championship on home soil two weeks ago, and he impressed once again on Thursday as he kicked off a run of three successive DP World Tour starts, setting the early target courtesy of a brilliant birdie blitz.

Starting from the 10th tee, Mostert picked up five shots on the front nine before making three more gains after the turn.

The 24-year-old’s only blemish came at the ninth — his last hole of the day — as he missed his tricky par putt there to head into the clubhouse on seven under par.

He was soon joined at that mark by fellow morning starter Catlin, with the American carding an eagle and five birdies in his flawless first-round effort.

Wil Besseling and Pierre Pineau sat in a tie for third on six-under, with Gavin Green, Borja Virto, Tom Murray, Nick Bachem and Casey Jarvis another shot back in joint-fifth.

Mostert said: “I’m very pleased. I played very solid today, kept the momentum going throughout the round.

How it stands after 18 holes ?#MagicalKenyaOpen

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 9, 2023

“Made some good putts, hit a lot of greens.

“The greens are small, so if you’re hitting greens you’re going to have a lot of chances. I managed to make a few putts, I’ll just keep doing the same thing. I’m excited for tomorrow.

“The greens are quite soft in the morning, they definitely firm up throughout the day. As soon as the wind picks up and the heat gets up they firm up and get faster, much tougher. It’s definitely an advantage to play early in the morning.

“I’m just grateful to be here, I got an invite. It fits nicely in my schedule and I’ll have three DP World Tour events in a row now, going to South Africa.”

Catlin added: “I feel like I left some out there on my back nine. I got off to a really hot start and just made some bad swings, I didn’t take advantage of the par fives and hit a really bad lay-up on the seventh.

“It was a good round of golf, I left a few out there for sure.

“A nice way to build some momentum. I feel like I’ve been close, just a poor swing here, misjudgement here, that’s all it takes out here.

Uganda’s Ronald Rugumayo had a day to remember as he made a hole-in-one at the par-three second.

The post DP World Tour: Mostert and Catlin tied at the top in Kenya appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
After the pandemic-enforced cancellation of last year’s Magical Kenya Open, the European Tour’s return to Nairobi this month is a triumph in itself. But the East African nation has doubled down on its comeback with the Kenya Open (March 18-21) to be followed by the new €1million Kenya Savannah Classic (March 23-26). Both events will be played at leafy Karen Country Club on the outskirts of the capital city. The Savannah Classic is the 16th new event created by the European Tour since its resumption last July following a three-month suspension due to COVID-19. It also restores the 2021 Race to Dubai to 42 tournaments following the cancellation of this month’s Oman Open. The Kenya Open, first played in 1967, boasts Seve Ballesteros (1978), Ian Woosnam (1986), Christy O’Connor Jnr (1990) and Trevor Immelman (2000) among its former champions. It became a full European Tour event in 2019 when Italy’s Guido Migliozzi claimed the title by one shot.

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The post QUICKSHOT: Karen Country Club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
The European Tour announced Friday the postponement of next week’s Magical Kenya Open due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

“Due to the threat posed by the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Government of Kenya, has this morning advised of their decision to postpone all meetings and conferences in the country of an international nature, a suspension which will be reviewed in a month’s time,” said a statement issued by the European Tour.

This is the third European Tour event in 2020 that has been postponed due to concerns regarding the disease. Previously, the Maybank Championship in Malaysia and the Volvo China Open were pushed back. The two tournaments were scheduled for back-to-back weeks in April following the Masters.

And just last week, two European Tour players, Edoardo Molinari and Lorenzo Gagli, were quarantined over fears they had contracted the virus ahead of the Oman Open. Both players were eventually cleared and reinstated into the event.

“We understand and totally respect the decision made by the Government of Kenya in these difficult times,” European Tour CEO Keith Pelley added in Friday’s statement. “We are looking into the possibility of rescheduling the tournament at some point later in the season, but that remains simply a possibility right now—we have no definitive plans at this stage.”

The Kenya Open has been around since 1967, but 2019 was the first year it was an official European Tour event. Guido Migliozzi is the defending champ.

The post Coronavirus outbreak causes postponement of third European Tour event this year appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.