Spanish Open Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Watch DP World Tour pro almost pull off the most unlikely 59 in golf history

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 07:40:26 +0000

Marcel Siem started the final round of the Acciona Open de España (aka the Spanish Open) in a somewhat pedestrian tie for 34th place, nine shots off the 54-hole lead held by France’s Matthieu Pavon. But the climax to the 43-year-old German’s day was a lot more exciting.

Having driven short and left of the green on the 324-yard par-4 18th at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid course, Siem stood over the resulting chip knowing that, should he hole out for what would be his third eagle of the day, he would register only the second round of 59 ever shot on the DP World Tour.

It wasn’t to be, although it was close, the ball missing the flagstick by inches before finishing maybe 12 feet past.

Chip for a 59…

An incredible round for @SiemMarcel ?? pic.twitter.com/0u9vqcCh3E

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 15, 2023

The putt for 60, however, failed to live up to most of what Siem had produced earlier—seven birdies, those two eagles and a lone dropped shot. Never online, it missed comfortably on the left. So 61 and 17 under par for the 72 holes it was in the end.

“At the start of the day I wasn’t really thinking about winning the tournament,” said Siem, who is in strong contention for one of the 10 PGA Tour cards available off this year’s Race to Dubai standings. “I was just trying my best. I’m really pleased though. I had a chip on the last for 59, something I’ve never had before. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately, I misread the putt. But it was cool to think about the 59.”

Another who started the final round alongside Siem also caused a ripple of excitement during a final round (and tournament) dominated by Pavon. The Frenchman led from start to finish, dropped only three shots all week, closed with a near-immaculate bogey-free 64 that took him to 23 under par for the week and made off with his maiden DP World Tour title by four shots. Almost incidentally, South African Zander Lombard reached 19-under to pip England’s Nathan Kimsey and claim a distant runner-up spot.

But never mind all that. It was defending champion Jon Rahm, seeking a fourth win in this event, who had local pulses racing early. At the conclusion of his third-round 67, the Masters champion announced that “the best has yet to come” and at least for a while he was living up to that promise.

Birdies on each of the first four holes had Rahm dreaming of what would have been the unlikeliest of victories. And when two more birdies arrived before the turn, he was out in 30 and thinking big. Sadly, however, the back nine turned out to be something of an anti-climax for the large crowds following the World No. 3. Three pars were followed by a bogey on the par-4 13th. But ever the showman, Rahm finished with a typical flourish, driving the last green and leaving the putt for eagle hanging on the lip. It all added up to 64 and an eventual T-9 finish.

“Today was a good day,” Rahm said. “It was the start I wanted but not the back nine I needed. I gave myself a chance to hope. But overall this wasn’t the week I wanted. Friday afternoon [when he shot 72] cost me a lot. If I could have made a few putts like i did yesterday and today it could have been a different tournament.

“I’m still proud to have come and competed and hopefully sneak a back-door top-10,” he continued. “That is good for the stats, good for the soul. I might have just run out of energy a little bit this week. Today was just a last-gasp attempt to give the crowd what they wanted. I almost did that on 18. I hit the perfect drive and almost made the putt. It would have been an incredible way to finish.”

This time around, that sort of glory was left to Pavon. Arriving in Madrid on the back of a T-6 finish in last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the 30-year-old Toulouse-native was clearly a man on the rise in an event where he has some positive history. A year ago, Pavon shot 19 under par and finished second—by six—to that man Rahm. “Chevaux de course,” as someone from France might say.

Main image: Stuart Franklin

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Pavon clings on to Spanish Open lead on moving day in Madrid

Golf Digest Middle East — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 18:14:13 +0000

The Spanish Open witnessed an action-packed moving day in Madrid as multiple played vied for the lead. Frenchman Matthieu Pavon held firm, posting an impressive third-round 66 to finish top of the leaderboard and heads into the final day with a two-stroke lead.

“I fought a lot today against my emotions, I like the place, I like the tournament and I know I did great last year, so a lot coming into my head today but it is all about managing things and this is what I did today and I think I did it pretty well,” said Pavon.

In his 184th start on the DP World Tour, Pavon is in pursuit of his maiden victory. His connection to this tournament, stemming from a solo second-place finish last year, and a childhood spent in Madrid provides him with an added layer of determination.

“What I learnt is that it is tough to beat Jon Rahm. Last year he got me by six shots and I thought I had a great week, he is the kind of player that is on another planet. This week I just try to be myself, I think I have some family from Spain, my grandfather was from Madrid also, so everything is kind of matching up, and I am just happy to be here. I like the course and I am doing great, so I am just enjoying every moment,” Pavon added.

England’s Nathan Kimsey leapt into solo second place after a brilliant bogey-free round that included four consecutive birdies on the back nine, concluding the day at six-under. Kimsey, now just two shots behind the leader, is making his tournament debut, having secured his DP World Tour card for the second time after claiming victory in the Challenge Tour rankings last year.

“When you are playing in one of the final groups on the weekend it makes you a little bit nervous, kind of anxious before getting going to start with, but I played really nice to be fair,” Kimsey said. “I made a great save on 11 out of the bunker to be fair and that helped keep momentum going. I hit it close on 12 and holed a massive putt on 13 out of nowhere, I had hit it in the trees and hacked it to the front of the green, and then holed that 50–60-footer, so just kind of took off a little bit,” Kimsey said as he spoke about some of his key third-round shots.

The competition remains tight, with 10 players lurking within five strokes of the lead. Tied for third place at -12 are Spain’s Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, France’s Mike Lorenzo-Vera, DP World Tour winner Romain Langasque and South Africa’s Zander Lombard. Langasque carded eight birdies in his third round, a feat shared with Danielle Hillier, who started his third round with an impressive string of five birdies. Lombard, who began his day at T18, carded a bogey-free round which included six birdies in his third round, while Alfredo recorded seven birdies and Lorenzo-Vera notched five and an eagle, securing a tie for fourth.

Main image: Matthieu Pavon. DP World Tour

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Matthieu Pavon stays on top in Madrid

Golf Digest Middle East — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 07:44:50 +0000

Matthieu Pavon was eager to maintain momentum after a big finish saw him keep hold of the lead heading into the weekend at the Spanish Open.

The Frenchman started 64-68 12 months ago at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid en route to a runner-up finish and has gone 63-68 this week to lead the way at 11-under.

For a long time it looked like Pavon would surrender his one-shot overnight cushion on day two but he birdied four of his last six holes to maintain that slender advantage over Dutchman Wil Besseling and India’s Shubhankar Sharma.

Home favourite Alfredo Garcia-Heredia was then at nine-under alongside Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera, one shot clear of England’s Nathan Kimsey, with 11 players four shots off the lead.

Pavon is no stranger to being in contention at the right end of a leaderboard, with two wins on the Alps Tour and three second-place finishes on each of the European Challenge and DP World Tours.

This is the second time this season he has led after both 18 and 36 holes, having done the same at the Italian Open before fading away at the weekend, and he knows the importance of keeping his foot on the gas as he seeks a maiden DP World Tour win.

“I’ll just stick to my plan,” he said. “You can have a lot of opportunities out here, it’s just about staying patient and waiting for some putts to drop and then trying to catch the good momentum on the par fives.

“It looks like it’s really a place that suits my game. I have a lot of memories from last year so I really feel comfortable on the course. I see shots quickly with the yardages I’ve got.

“Today was a strange day, it could have been much better had I started stronger but it could have been worse also so I’m very pleased with the round today.

“I know that I’m putting great this week and that I would have a couple of chances on my back nine because there are two par fives.

“I just tried to stay patient and just wait for one putt to drop and that is what happened — I dropped a putt on the second for par and all of a sudden everything clicked in a little bit and I had some momentum.”

Besseling is in need of a strong finish to the season to keep his playing privileges and he sandwiched a two-putt birdie on the par-five seventh with excellent approaches into the fifth and 12th to get to double figures.

A bogey at the 16th threatened to derail his progress but he made an excellent up-and-down on the last to sign for a 68.

Sharma bogeyed the third but a sand save on the fourth and approaches inside 15 feet on the fifth and eighth saw him turn in 34.

A second bogey of the day on the tenth was followed by an excellent tee-shot on the par-three 11th and he holed from long-range on the 13th, made the most of the par-five 14th and hit a smart approach into the last in a second consecutive 66.

Main image: Matthieu Pavon. DP World Tour

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Jon Rahm equals idol Seve Ballesteros’ Spanish Open record in some style

Matt Smith — Sun, 09 Oct 2022 17:00:14 +0000

By Matt Smith
Jon Rahm achieved a life-long dream to live up to his idol Seve Ballesteros — and he did it in stunning style to claim his third Spanish Open crown.

A blistering final-round 62 allowed the Spanish hero to saunter to a six-stroke victory to the delight of the home crowd at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

"Viva Seve!"

Incredible scenes in Madrid as @JonRahmpga equals Seve Ballesteros' record as a three-time winner of the Spanish Open.#AccionaOpen pic.twitter.com/jdlFezryHf

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 9, 2022

Rahm’s third crown in the Spanish Open takes him level with the late legend Seve — allowing himself a bow as he enjoyed a Sunday cruise to finish on 25-under — with Matthieu Pavon next best on 19-under and Min Woo Lee a further shot back after closing with a 68.

“It will take a few days to process this, but it was the goal coming in,” Rahm told DP World Tour. “Seve has always been a great hero of mine and to do what he did over a whole career in only a few years is quite humbling.”

Ballesteros won his three Spanish crowns between 1981-95, while Rahm managed it in four events, with the first title coming in 2018.

Rahm continued: “I’m not going to lie. It might not be the strongest field I play all year but sometimes this could be the hardest to win, right? When I’m at home, I’m supposed to win, everybody is betting on me to win and to come out and play a Sunday like I just did it’s hard to describe. It was my lowest round, my lowest score out here, it was pretty much a perfect week.”

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Jon Rahm hits the front in bid to match legend Seve Ballesteros at Spanish Open

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 09 Oct 2022 08:06:48 +0000

By GolfDigestME.com
Jon Rahm in on course to emulate his hero Seve Ballesteros in becoming a three-time Spanish Open champion on the DP World Tour. Rahm fired a six-under 65 to move into the lead by a shot at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

The world No. 6 heads into the final round on 16-under, with the narrowest of advantages over Australia’s Min Woo Lee.

Stephen Gallacher, Louis De Jager, Marc Warren, Eddie Pepperell, Matthieu Pavon and Kiradech Aphibarnrat are three off the lead on 13-under while Edoardo Molinari, who matched the low round of the week with his 63, is a shot further back with Zander Lombard.

“I’m feeling good,” said Rahm. “I’d say I wish most of my rounds could be as organised as this one right now. I don’t feel like I did anything special, maybe the up-and-down on 17, but I just played consistent golf, put the ball in play, and the few times I missed the tee shot I was never really out of it.

“Well hopefully my best round can be tomorrow. Let’s hope for that and have an enjoyable walk down 18. That would be a perfect day.”

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WATCH: DP World Tour player Ashun Wu fails to get second shot beyond member’s tee after hitting drive only 50 yards

Golf Digest Middle East — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 09:22:34 +0000

By Jay Coffin
We’ve all been there. You just don’t expect a touring professional to become one of us. At least, not like this.

Ashun Wu, a 37-year-old from China, made eight birdies on Thursday during an opening-round 63 at the Spanish Open at Club de Campo Villa in Madrid.

But Friday was a completely different story. Wu started out on fire, making three consecutive birdies on Nos. 2-4 and then another on the eighth hole to vault into contention. But then things got weird with seven holes remaining.

Ashun Wu is forced to chip onto the members' tee after his drive goes 40 yards.#AccionaOpen pic.twitter.com/yHl8Hdwnf9

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

Wu began to struggle. Wayward drives on the 12th and 13th holes resulted in double bogeys on both. He did make birdie on the par-5 14th hole and parred the 15th.

Then, it happened. Wu hit a drive high and right off the par-4, 448-yard 16th tee that hit a tree and the ball bounced straight down into nasty, thick rough. The ball only traveled 56 yards, according to the DP World Tour website.

Screenshot of Wu’s scorecard with statistics of the par-4 16th hole.

Wu was still so far away from the fairway and, considering that lie, he didn’t believe he could reach it, so he opted to essentially chip the ball onto the member’s tee, which was only another 40 yards ahead. He executed the shot beautifully but was still 350 yards from the pin.

The 224th-ranked player in the world, finally able to play his third shot from the short grass, hit it 282 yards into the fairway, but then hit another poor shot for his fourth, chipped it to 12 feet for his fifth shot and, of course, made the 12 footer for double-bogey 6, this third double in a five-hole span.

There was a bounce back of sorts. Wu hit his tee shot to four feet on the par-3 186-yard 17th hole and made birdie, then closed with par to shoot 39 on the back and one-over 72 on the round. He’s tied for 16th place, only five shots behind leaders Paul Waring and Stephen Gallacher.

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Waring and Gallacher tied at the top at Spanish Open with home hope Rahm in pursuit

Matt Smith — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 04:59:59 +0000

By Matt Smith
There was a little tog-of-war between England, Scotland and Spain in the Spanish Open as Paul Waring and Stephen Gallacher took a share of the halfway lead at the 2022 Spanish Open, with home hope Jon Rahm in hot pursuit. Waring led the way as he matched the low round of the week — an eight-under 63 with 10 birdies and two bogeys.

Veteran Gallacher soon joined him on 12-under — the four-time DP World Tour winner carding a second straight 65 at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

Fellow Scot David Drysdale is alongside South African Hennie du Plessis one stroke back, while Rahm has aspirations of matching his hero Seve Ballesteros with a third Open de Espana title and he sits at 10-under alongside Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Dutchman Darius van Driel, Australia’s Min Woo Lee and Frenchman Matthieu Pavon.

“I hit some alright shots,” said Waring. “I actually got the putter quite hot which is not like me at all really, so it was nice to hole a few long ones coming in and keep that momentum I had going during the round, so happy with that finish definitely.”

Gallacher added: “Halfway, you’ve done not a bad job and now you need to do the same again. You’ve got some great players playing. The weather has been perfect, and the course is in unbelievable condition, so you can shoot a low score. We’ll just see what happens. If I can play the same over the weekend, who knows.”

Rahm is ready to go again.

“I played what I could say 11 uncomfortable holes and then I played really good golf on the last seven,” he said. “From 12 on I played wonderful, it was very very enjoyable. It seems to be the part of the golf course that I score on more often so I hope to get a little bit better on the front nine tomorrow.”

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Matt Fitzpatrick puts Ryder Cup disappointment behind him with gritty Valderrama win

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 04:33:41 +0000

Matt Fitzpatrick celebrates as he putts out on the 18th hole Sunday at Valderrama to secure the win at the Andalucia Masters. Angel Martinez

By John Huggan
Never let it be said that the European Tour does not offer a little bit of everything to players and public. One week after all 75 of the competitors who completed 72 holes in the Spanish Open at Club de Campo in Madrid finished under par (38 of those 10 under or lower), only 14 men ended the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters at Valderrama in red figures.

Best of that elite group turned out to be the second highest-ranked player in the field, Matt Fitzpatrick. But it could and perhaps should have been the more unlikely figure of Sebastian Soderberg. The Swede, whose only previous European Tour victory came at 2019 European Masters, arrived on the Costa Del Sol ranked a lowly 169th on the Race to Dubai. In 22 starts this year, Soderberg had missed the cut 12 times and withdrawn once. His best finish was T-26 in the Kenya Savannah Classic. So victory would have meant a lot to the 31-year-old.

But it wasn’t to be in the cruellest of fashions. With two holes to play in regulation, Soderberg was six under par for the tournament and holding a two-shot advantage over Fitzpatrick, 28th in the World Ranking, and another Englishman, 54-hole leader Laurie Canter. Not for long though. As is the norm on the course that hosted the 1997 Ryder Cup, the closing holes proved eventful.

A badly pushed drive off the par-5 17th tee led to Soderberg losing his ball and, eventually, making a double-bogey 7. Seconds after that unfortunate sequence of events concluded, Fitzpatrick made his first birdie of the day—after 15 straight pars—on the par-4 16th to take a lead he would not relinquish. Another birdie at the penultimate hole and a closing par gave the now seven-time European Tour winner a closing 69. His six-under-par 278 total ended up three shots better than the two runners-up, Soderberg (who dropped another shot on the last) and Australia’s Min Woo Lee.

Canter, who finished in a seven-way tie for fourth on two-under par, will also harbour regrets. With 13 holes to play, the 31-year-old still searching for a first victory on the European Tour, was eight under, two shots better than the eventual winning score.

“Winning here at Valderrama, with the history it has, is on the bucket list,” said Fitzpatrick, 27, who earned €489,750 from what was his first start since the recent Ryder Cup. “And to do it bogey-free as well makes it extra special. I’m delighted, especially with the way I did it. I stayed patient all day. I didn’t try to press at all. I stuck to my targets and managed to hole the putts at the end. You can hit half-decent shots here, finish behind trees and have to chip out. It’s a true test. I’m really pleased with how my attitude was over the 72 holes.”

All of which was in almost complete contrast to the less-than chuffed Fitzpatrick who left Whistling Straits last month. Pointless for the second time in the Ryder Cup, the former U.S. Amateur champion was understandably down, despite having played some good golf in Europe’s losing cause. So to win so soon after such a disappointment will clearly be an important boost to his morale. Up to fifth on the Race to Dubai as the year-long contest moves towards its climax next month, he will surely arrive at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship—an event he has already won twice—with renewed confidence.

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This Jon Rahm staredown would get him suspended at least one year from the Korean Tour

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 01:29:54 +0000

By Christopher Powers
Jon Rahm has never and will never shy away from showing his emotions on the golf course. While he’s never gone full Bio Kim and flipped a fan the bird, he’s had his fair share of outbursts, though they are usually always directed at himself for his own poor play.

But on Thursday at the Spanish Open, Rahm had a little run-in with a fan behind the sixth tee. Immediately following impact, the fiery Spaniard dropped his club in disgust, turned around, stared directly at whoever angered him and gave him the famous Club Pro Guy stance. Here’s the video captured by Golf Channel:

Your browser does not support iframes.

It’s unclear which fan it was or what they did, but whatever it was it obviously irked Rahm. There were multiple people with phones out filming, but we don’t want to assume.

Our question is, between the club drop, the staredown, the histrionics and the hard club slam into the bag, how long would this get Rahm suspended on the Korean Tour? One tournament? One month? The rest of the year? Luckily, Rahm doesn’t have to find out, and he certainly won’t have to kneel in front of any cameras and apologise.

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