Angel Hidalgo held off pre-tournament favorite Jon Rahm to assert a dramatic play-off victory on dwelling soil on the acciona Open de Espana in Madrid.
Hidalgo missed a four-foot birdie likelihood for victory on the ultimate gap at Membership de Campo Villa de Madrid, seeing him card a one-under 70 and end on 14 underneath alongside Rahm.
Rahm – making his first common DP World Tour look since becoming a member of LIV Golf – had birdied three of his final 5 holes to drive a play-off, with the previous world No 1 then matching Hidalgo’s birdie on the first additional gap.
The gamers returned to play the par-four 18th for a 3rd time, the place Hidalgo bought up and down from simply in need of the inexperienced to publish a kick-in birdie – as Rahm might solely make par – and register a maiden DP World Tour victory.
How Hidalgo held off Rahm on dwelling soil
Hidalgo’s two-shot lead instantly disappeared when he missed a close-range par putt on the first, the place Rahm transformed to maneuver joint-top of the leaderboard and Puig additionally picked up a shot to leap inside one of many lead.
The in a single day chief responded to birdie the par-four subsequent and Rahm moved additional behind when he did not stand up and down to avoid wasting par on the third, as Puig rolled in from 15 ft on the second and took benefit of the par-five fourth to maneuver alongside Hidalgo.
Jon Rahm narrowly missed out on a file fourth Open de Espana victory
Hidalgo posted back-to-back bogeys from the fifth and noticed Puig quickly transfer three clear when he birdied the par-five seventh, however Puig bogeyed the following as his two taking part in companions carded back-to-back birdies.
Rahm added a 3rd consecutive birdie on the par-four Tenth to briefly make it a three-way tie on the high, however Puig bogeyed two of his subsequent three holes and Rahm double-bogeyed the par-four thirteenth to revive Hidalgo’s two-shot cushion.
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The previous Masters champion matched Hidalgo’s birdie on the par-five subsequent and poured in from 20 ft on the seventeenth to shut inside considered one of his taking part in accomplice, as Puig’s hopes light with dropped photographs on the fifteenth and the seventeenth.
Rahm holed from 5 ft on the driveable par-four final to set the goal at 14 underneath, which was sufficient to drive the play-off when Hidalgo missed a putt from even nearer for victory in regulation.
Hidalgo recovered to affix Rahm in each birdieing the primary additional gap, performed on the par-four 18th once more, then left himself a putt from inside two ft on the second play-off gap – when Rahm did not stand up and down from the tough – to finish an emotional victory.
“Insane, absolutely insane,” Hidalgo stated. “It was weird because I was pretty relaxed all day, I don’t know why. That’s amazing. That’s for everyone who believed in me.”
Puig ended 4 strokes again and in a six-strong group on 10 underneath, with Tommy Fleetwood, Joe Dean and Scotland’s Grant Forrest – who carded a final-round 64 – additionally ending tied-third.
Patrick Reed registered a level-par 71 to finish the week in tied-Tenth with Tyrrell Hatton and Alfredo Garcia Heredia, with Shane Lowry and former PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker eight strokes again and a part of the share of thirteenth.
What’s subsequent?
The DP World Tour heads to Scotland subsequent for the Alfred Dunhill Hyperlinks Championship, the place Rory McIlroy returns to motion. Watch stay on Thursday from noon on Sky Sports activities Golf. Stream the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and extra with NOW.
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