South Korea’s Jeunghun Wang came through a playoff against Nacho Elvira of Spain to win the Trophée Hassan II at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, Morocco.
Jeunghun Wang of South Korea produced a masterful display of putting to win the Trophée Hassan II. The 20-year-old holed a 20-foot putt on the final green to force a playoff against Spain’s Nacho Elvira, who had posted a four-round total of five-under-par in tough, rainy conditions at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.
Wang and Elvira returned to the 18th to settle the tournament over extra holes. The Spaniard looked to have the title sewn up for a second time after finding the par-5 green with two excellent blows. But Wang wasn’t giving in, he rolled in a monster putt, from some 50 feet, to make a birdie and keep the playoff alive.
On the second extra time down the 18th, Wang holed another good birdie putt from 20 feet out. This time it was enough to secure the title for the South Korean – his first victory on the European Tour.
“I don’t remember how I putted on those last three holes,” he said. “I just tried to make birdie, I didn’t think about anything, I just putted and I’m so excited right now.”
Pace putting tips and drills video:
3 Talking points from the Trophée Hassan II
1 - This was a maiden European Tour victory for 20-year-old Jeunghun Wang. Playing on a sponsor’s invitation he became the fourth consecutive first time winner on the European Tour, following Andrew Johnston, Soomin Lee and Li Haotong. He is also the third consecutive winner from Asia on the circuit. The victory has moved him into the top-100 on the Official World Golf Ranking and he has earned an exemption on the European Tour to the end of 2016.
2 – The final leaderboard represented something of a changing of the guard on the European Tour – four of the top six players (Nacho Elvira, Clement Berardo and Nino Bertasio) are in their 20s. For both Elvira and Berardo it was a best ever performance on the European Tour.
3 – Robert Rock took the lead after a birdie on the 13th, but he fell away with bogeys at the 15th and 16th holes. Still, it was the Englishman’s best result of the season and his best on Tour since the 2015 Lyoness Open. Another Englishman, Chris Hanson, had led through 54 holes but he fell back with a disappointing final round of 75. Even so, his tie for fifth was a career-best finish on the European Tour.
Trophée Hassan II Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, Rabat, Morocco May 5-8 Purse €1,500,000, par 72
1 Jeunghun Wang (Kor) 71 68 74 70 283 €250,000 2 Nacho Elvira (Esp) 71 71 72 69 283 €166,660 T3 Clement Berardo (Fra) 70 73 68 73 284 €84,450 T3 Robert Rock (Eng) 74 70 70 70 284 €84,450 T5 Nino Bertasio (Ita) 72 72 71 70 285 €58,050 T5 Chris Hanson (Eng) 72 71 67 75 285 €58,050 7 David Dixon (Eng) 73 71 67 75 286 €45,000 T8 Jose Filipe Lima (Por) 72 70 73 72 287 €35,550 T8 Kristopher Mueck (Aus) 72 70 73 72 287 €35,550 T10 Renato Paratore (Ita) 70 76 69 73 288 €27,800 T10 Jason Scrivener (Aus) 68 71 75 74 288 €27,800 T10 Joshua White (Eng) 73 69 70 76 288 €27,800
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
