Adrin Otaegui (-18) managed to overcome the five strokes disadvantage with which he started in the final round of the Volvo China Open, to achieve his fifth victory in the DP World Tour and thus break the drought of Spanish golf, which had not yet won in this 2024 in neither of the two major circuits. The tournament, which was reduced by heavy rain to 54 holes, concluded this Sunday at Hidden Grace Golf Club in Shenzhenwith a superb round by the Spaniard with 65 strokes, seven birdies without error that gave him the victory with a stroke advantage over the Italian Guido Migliozzi.
This victory puts the Spanish player in the PGA Championship, the second major of the season, which will be played in a couple of weeks in Valhala (Kentucky) and where he is already classified Jon Rahm. In addition, Otaegui, who was ranked 143rd in the world ranking before his victory, will be very close to 100th place., which will allow him to get into the fight for the Olympic Games, where David Puig until now had the lead (105th in the world ranking) followed by Jorge Campillo (123) who could take an important leap if tonight he finishes in the Top-10 of the PGA Tour tournament he is playing.
The competition was reduced to 54 holes. The last 18 were played through two starting tees and in groups of three to speed up a tournament where Adrin Otaegui has shone, despite the difficulties, with his own light.
The Basque golfer used 67 and 66 strokes in the first two days, two brilliant results supported by a solid game that generated a torrent of birdies, to the point that a bogey on the 18th hole of the second round is listed as the only mistake of a immaculate performance. However, the best was yet to come, an exceptional last round where the birdies were making their way onto the card in spurts, four in the first round (holes 2, 4, 8 and 9) and another three more in the second (holes 13, 16 and 17), seven in total that turned the classification in their favor despite strong competition from their main rivals.
Among them, special mention for the Swedish Sebastian Soderberg, who at times shared leadership with the Spanish golfer. The emotion reached its highest levels on the Nordic player’s last hole, already with Adrin Otaegui impatiently waiting in the clubhouse for the outcome of Soderberg’s return. The immense pressure seriously affected the Swedish golfer, who was involved in problems on a final hole where he scored a double bogey that put Adrin Otaegui’s new victory on the DP World Tour on a plate.
Of the rest of the Spanish representatives in this Volvo China Open, the most notable have been Santiago Tarro and Ivn Cantero located in positions 27 and 24.