Spain’s Alejandro del Rey clinched his maiden DP World Tour title with a flawless 66 in the final round of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.
At the UAE’s Al Hamra GC, Del Rey started off the day with a two-shot advantage, which he diligently never let up. By the 5th, he had sunk three birdies to increase his lead to five shots, making par in every other hole.
England’s Marcus Armitage made six opening pars in a row and back-to-back birdies on the 7th and 8th cut Del Rey’s lead by two shots. But the Spaniard played the closing nine just as superbly, with three birdies from the 11th to help extend his advance to six.
Del Rey made par for all remaining five holes, cruising his way to victory to end the tournament on 22 under par. This marked his first tour win on his 70th start. The closely-trailing Armitage birdied the 18th to card a final-round 68 and finish on 18-under.
“It’s amazing,” the 26-year-old said, following his triumph. “I got to a point last year where I felt like I wasn’t having that much fun on the course, because – for me – just playing for 20th, 30th place wasn’t that meaningful.
“I worked my a*** really since then because I just didn’t want to be in that position much longer. I feel like I played for many years with a lot of friends who have won out here and I know I could do it, it just wasn’t showing up. I’m just happy that it finally came.”
“Alejandro was fantastic today,” Armitage said. “I battled hard but didn’t really get it going early doors, which put me behind the eight ball. I’ve played well, I’ve broken down a few barriers that I didn’t think I could do and I’m proud of myself.”
Fellow Spaniard David Puig ended in third, three shots behind the Englishman, but with a round-of-the-day 65. Australia’s Jason Scrivener came in a shot further adrift in fourth.
WHAT IS THE NEXT EVENT?
The next event on the DP World Tour is the Bahrain Championship taking place between Jan 30-Feb 2 at the Royal Golf Club in Bahrain.