Adrian Otaegui has booked a place at the upcoming PGA Championship thanks a one-shot victory at a dramatic, weather-affected Volvo China Open.
The 31-year-old Spaniard entered the final day at Hidden Grace Golf Club five shots off the lead after Saturday’s third round was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. But Otaegui relinquished that gap from leader, Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg, after a sublime display of seven birdies without dropping a shot which culminated in him setting a new clubhouse target at 18 under.
The pair approached the last on the same score but the Swede was unable to keep up with Otaegui as he ended up three-putting the last for a double-bogey, slipping down to third on 16 under alongside Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach and England’s Paul Waring.
While an impressive birdie at the last for Italy’s Guido Migliozzi helped him jump to second on 17 under.
“I’m very, very happy – I’m extremely happy,” Otaegui said. “I had to wait a little bit since I finished, see what was happening in the final group but luckily for me, things turned up well and I’m extremely happy.
“I was starting five shots back and I tried not to look at the leaderboard, not think about the result, try to play how I played on Thursday and Friday and think if things go well, it’s a course where I can have some birdie chances.
“I have been putting well, I was feeling more and more confident through the week with the putter and I knew if I had birdie chances that I could potentially hole a few. I think I was actually feeling more calm through the round.”
This is Otaegui’s fifth win on the DP World Tour which has helped him qualify for the PGA Championship after he finished in the top three of the Asian Swing rankings.
The next event on the DP World Tour schedule, following the PGA Championship, is the Soudai Open taking place between 23-26 May at Rinkven International GC in Belgium.