Neergaard-petersen seals second win of season at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
The 24-year-old, who arrived in the UAE after clinching a maiden professional win at last month’s Kolkata Challenge, was delighted with how he played throughout the week to make sure of title
Rasmusneergaard-petersenheldhisnervetosecure a second Challenge Tour title in three events in the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.
The Dane began the final round of the Emirates Golf Federation co-promoted event three strokes behind overnight leader Wilco Nienaber but fired seven birdies on his way to a five under par final round of 67 to finish 14 under par for the week, one stroke ahead of Nienaber in second place.
The 24-year-old, who arrived in the UAE after clinching a maiden professional win at last month’s Kolkata Challenge, was delighted with how he played throughout the week to make sure of victory.
“I feel incredible,” he said. “I knew I had a chance going into today, but being able to put together a great round and get it done in the end feels amazing.
“I got off to a really good start in the first round, played pretty good in the second round, but I’m most proud of my third round. It was probably the best round of two under par I’ve ever played.
“This is all still new to me. Right now I just want to enjoy this win.”
Neergaard-petersen started the week in pole position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and after recording a second win in three events, now sits in a commanding position after eight events of the 29-event season.
The Dane highlighted his hard work off the course during the off-season and an improvement in his driving as the key to his stellar form this year.
“I feel like I’ve made great strides over the winter break,” he added. “I’ve gone to more of a fade shape with the driver, and that’s really paid dividends.
“We’re definitely going to go out somewhere nice and have a nice dinner, that’s for sure.”
Englishman David Horsey finished in third place on 12 under par, while Dane Hamish Brown and Spaniard Joel Moscatel were one shot further back in a share of fourth.
Dubai amateur Oscar Craig, who had stepfather Tommy Fleetwood as his caddie all week, carded a respectable final round of 76 to place him on two over for the tournament in a share of 60th place.
The 17-year-old was the only amateur to make the cut, and is hopeful of a bright future after a fantastic performance at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.
“I’ll do everything I can to try and play in as many of these as I can,” said Craig. “It’s been such a cool experience, everything about is has been brilliant. I’ve loved it and hopefully I can be here again.”
Neergaard-petersen extends his lead at the top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings and now stands on 774.53, 303 points clear of Levy in second. Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg remains in third position on 431.77, with Englishman John Parry and Welshman Rhys Enoch rounding out the top five.
The Road to Mallorca takes a short break before heading to Spain for the Challenge De Espana at Real Club Sevilla Golf from May 9-12.
KATSURAGAWA SHOOTS 63 TO WIN ON DP WORLD TOUR’S RETURN TO JAPAN: Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa shot a final-round 63 to win the ISPS Handa Championship on Sunday as the Europe-based DP World Tour returned to Japan.
The 25-year-old had seven birdies and no bogeys to finish on 17-under par after equalling the course record, three strokes ahead of Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg at the Taiheiyo Club in Gotemba, overlooked by Mount Fuji in central Japan.
Spain’s Ivan Cantero, Germany’s Marcel Schneider, South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Japan’s Ryosuke Kinoshita all finished two shots further back in a tie for third.
Overnight leader Casey Jarvis suffered a finalday meltdown with five bogeys on the front nine, eventually shooting a 74 to finish eight strokes off the pace.
Germany’s Yannik Paul, who started the day one shot behind Casey, also dropped out of contention and finished 11 shots behind Katsuragawa.
Katsuragawa won the inaugural ISPS Handa Championship title in 2022, but pandemic restrictions meant the competition was sanctioned only by the Japanese tour.