AR
By Matt Smith
As predicted by Golf Digest Middle East, Adrian Otaegui earmarked his own little place in the history books on Sunday by easing to victory at the DP World Tour’s Andalucia Masters — in more ways than one.
The Dubai-based player was cruising with a six-stroke lead going into the final round at Valderrama in Sotogrande. When Otaegui kept the field at arm’s length throughout the final 18 holes to confirm the title was his — his fourth on the DP World Tour — he also became the first LIV Golf player to win on the former European Tour circuit.
A tournament record 19-under 265 was six better than runner-up Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren.
Otaegui played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational in London, finishing tied for sixth, and made subsequent starts in Portland and Boston. After his initial LIV appearance, the DP World Tour suspended Otaegui and the other tour members who competed on the rival tour for three events and fined them £100,000. Otaegui and others subsequently appealed those penalties to a UK arbiter, who quickly stayed the suspension.
With a full hearing scheduled in the UK for February to decide whether the DP World Tour can prohibit LIV Golfers from playing in its events, they are still allowed to enter tour cometitions. Otaegui was making his ninth start in a DP World event since June. Otaegui missed just one cut and had three top-15 finishes.
At Valderrama, Otaegui opened with rounds of 67-66-64, making only three bogeys the first three days to take his commanding lead. Aware the potential to let complacency get the best of him on Sunday, Otaegui specifically adjusted his focus.
“I think that was a very big risk that I didn’t want to take,” he said. “I just tried to play my game. I tried to play like if I just teed off being square and just tried to beat the others just today. Just tried to stay focused and play every hole with the same intensity.”
The strategy worked as Otaegui made three birdies in a six-hole stretch early on Sunday (he played the front nine for the week in 15 under), never seeing the lead dip below five shots. A bogey on the 11th was offset by a birdie on the 18th as he claimed his fourth career DP World Tour win (the last coming at the 2020 Scottish Open) and became the first Spaniard to win the event since Sergio Garcia in 2018.
“I feel so happy to have my first win in Spain in front of these crowds on my favorite golf course in Spain,” Otaegui said. “It’s just unbelievable. I’ve very, very happy with everything It’s just the week went perfect.”
Otaegui has secured a spot in the DP World Tour Championships at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November, where he will hope to impress enough to get a full-time contract for the expanded LIV Golf 2023 season.
He also picked up world ranking points, something LIV Golf tournaments are not awarded as yet and is expected to climb inside the top 100 on Monday.
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