Adrian Otaegui produced a brilliant final round of 65 to claim the weather-shortened Volvo China Open by one stroke.
The Spaniard began the day five shots behind the in-form Sebastian Soderberg, who had led from the outset of the 54-hole tournament after Saturday’s third round was cancelled due to thunder and lightning in the Shenzhen area.
Victory gives Otaegui the fifth DP World Tour title of his career and earns him a place at this month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club after he finished in the top three of the Asian Swing rankings with Soderberg and Keita Nakajima.
“I’m very, very happy – I’m extremely happy,” Otaegui said after the victory. “I had to wait a little bit since I finished, see what was happening in the final group but luckily for me, things turned up well and I’m extremely happy.
“I was starting five shots back and I tried not to look at the leaderboard, not think about the result, try to play how I played on Thursday and Friday and think if things go well, it’s a course where I can have some birdie chances.
“I have been putting well, I was feeling more and more confident through the week with the putter and I knew if I had birdie chances that I could potentially hole a few. I think I was actually feeling more calm through the round.”
Soderberg started the day with a three-shot lead but he was reeled in by Otaegui following his flawless display of seven birdies to set the clubhouse target at 18 under par.
The Swede was on the same score heading down the last but hooked his tee shot into the penalty area and despite reaching the par-four hole in three, he could not hole the monster par putt which would have extended the tournament.
Soderberg went on to three-putt for a double bogey and a level-par 72, leaving him tied for third alongside England’s Paul Waring and Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach, with Guido Migliozzi in second place at 17 under thanks to a lengthy birdie on the final hole.
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