Pablo Larrazabal birdies three of his final four holes to win KLM Open by two shots; Spaniard claims second DP World Tour title in the space of four weeks and ninth of his career; watch more DP World Tour action on Sky Sports from Thursday as Porsche European Open begins
Sunday 28 May 2023 21:07, UK
Pablo Larrazabal birdied three of his final four holes to win the KLM Open by two strokes from fellow Spaniard Adrian Otaegui and clinch his second DP World Tour title in the space of four weeks.
The Spaniard, a winner at the Korea Championship in April, began his final round with a one-shot advantage over Otaegui and Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard but suffered an early blemish when he double-bogeyed his second hole after finding the water.
Larrazabal recovered to make gains at six and seven and although he dropped a shot at nine he clawed that back immediately on the next hole as he came home in 32 for a three-under 69 and ended the tournament on 13 under par.
The Barcelona-born player drained a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th before celebrating his ninth triumph on the DP World Tour and first since turning 40 earlier this month.
Larrazabal said: "It was a battle with myself. I didn't play well. I managed myself out there, holed a few great putts on the front nine and did my best to keep myself in position.
"To win golf tournaments, you have to make birdies at the end. It doesn't matter how fast you run at the beginning, you have to run faster at the end to win the race.
"I'm so proud of myself and so proud of my team. We struggled big time through Covid but here we are - four wins in the last 15 months. It means too much to me."
Larrazabal's fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez won 13 DP World Tour titles after turning 40 and the KLM Open champion is aiming for similar success in his fifth decade, adding: "Hopefully I do 20 per cent of what Miguel did in his forties."
Otaegui took solo second place on 11 under after ending his round with a birdie, while Hojgaard and South Africa's Deon Germishuys shared third spot one shot further back on 10 under.
Poland's Adrian Meronk, the highest-ranked player in the tournament at world No 47, tied for fifth place on nine under with Daniel Hillier of New Zealand and Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
Watch more DP World Tour action - the Porsche European Open in Germany - live on Sky Sports Golf from midday on Thursday.
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