Tag: Ras al Khaimah Championship

A clutch putt for double bogey? DP World Tour event ends with wild finish

“I put two in the water and thought ‘Well that’s one way to end the tournament.’”

Have you ever heard of a clutch putt for double bogey?

That was the scenario for Daniel Gavins, who rinsed two balls in the water on the 18th at the DP World Tour’s 2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship and still managed to come away with the win.

“I thought I had (given the tournament away),” said Gavins. “I put two in the water and thought ‘Well that’s one way to end the tournament.’”

The 31-year-old Englishman held a two-shot lead on the final hole at Al Hamra Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates but found the water twice on his way to the green. Gavins made his eventual 30-foot putt for double-bogey to reach 17 under for the tournament, one shot clear of Alexander Bjork and Zander Lombard, who each had a chance to force a playoff. Bjork was in the group ahead of Gavins but bogeyed the last, while Lombard later missed an eagle putt to force a playoff.

“I’ve been struggling off the tee for the last two weeks and it’s not a very nice tee shot to have, even with a two-shot lead,” Gavins explained after the round. “To be fair, I thought I was holing that for the playoff. I didn’t realize Bjork had made a bogey.”

Gavins, who began the day two shots back, shot a 3-under 69 in the final round that included eight birdies – six over a seven-hole stretch – as well as three bogeys and the what could have been costly double. The win is No. 2 for Gavins on the DP World Tour following his victory at the 2021 ISPS Handa World Invitational.

Next up for the Tour is the Singapore Classic, Feb. 9-12 at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=]

Scott Jamieson, Sebastian Heisele tied for first round lead at Ras al Khaimah Championship

A topped iron shot was one of the highlights from round one.

Scott Jamieson and Sebastian Heisele each opened with a 7-under 65 to share the first-round lead at the DP World Tour’s Ras al Khaimah Championship in the United Arab Emirates.

After the past few events on the circuit – formerly branded as the European Tour – saw star-loaded fields, there were only two golfers inside the top 10 of the event’s first round who sit inside the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Jamieson was bogey free in taking a share of the 18-hole lead. The 38-year-old Scottsman was in position to win a few weeks ago at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship but stumbled in the final round, eventually signing for 5 over and dropping to T-10.

“My iron play was good today, I actually didn’t drive it particularly well,” he said of his Thursday effort. “There’s not a great deal of rough, so I was able to still hit is reasonably close.”

Heisele, who also was bogey-free in the first round, ranks outside the top 600 in the Official World Golf Ranking and is looking for his first DP World Tour victory. The 33-year-old’s last start was in September 2021 at the Italian Open, where he missed the cut.

The moment of the round belonged to Rasmus Højgaard, who found an, let’s just say, unique way to find the putting surface from over 240 yards. He went on to shoot 69 and was tied for 17th.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]