MJ Daffue won the DP World PGTI Open on Sunday after finishing the job with a final round without bogeys and a closing 69 that allowed him to end the tournament at 21 under par, one shot ahead of Jhared Hack and Saptak Talwar. The South African, who had started the final day with a four-shot lead, thus added his second HotelPlanner Tour title in just two months and also climbed to number one on the Road to Mallorca.
Daffue once again showed he is in very good form. In the morning he completed the six holes he had left of the third round to sign a 67 and arrive at Sunday’s tee with the tournament very much in his favour. He then handled the pressure with great maturity on a Classic Golf & Country Club course that once again put traps on the greens and demanded patience until the last hole. The birdie at the 9th and, above all, the eagle on the par-5 14th finally opened the way to victory.
“I’m very satisfied,” Daffue said after lifting the trophy. “The first win takes a weight off your shoulders, but this time I believed I could do it.” The South African made it clear he arrived with growing confidence after the last few weeks and that, this time, he managed the moment much better. “I’ve been patient. I’ve been working with a sports psychologist and my motto has been ‘tenacity, determination and patience’, and that helped me today,” he summed up.
Daffue also acknowledged it wasn’t an easy day even if the final score might suggest so. “It wasn’t easy. The greens were a bit tricky, but I made some very good swings and my eagle was probably my only putt holed from more than two metres today”.
Behind him, American Jhared Hack and Indian Saptak Talwar shared second place at 20 under par, while Austrian Lukas Nemecz finished fourth at -19. Daffue’s victory puts him at the top of the Race to Mallorca, ahead of Will Enefer and MJ Viljoen, in a season-opening stretch that is beginning to make a difference.
In Spanish terms, Albert Boneta once again produced a very solid performance. The Catalan, who had been fully involved in the fight for the tournament in the opening days, finally finished in the 12th place with -14, after rounds of 67, 67, 72 and 68. A serious and valuable result in a very demanding tournament, also affected by delays and the long marathon of weekend holes in India. It is Boneta’s best result since July last year in Czechia.
In addition, Alejandro Aguilera (-9) finished 31st, his best ever result on the HotelPlanner Tour and Pablo Ereño (-8) finished 36th
The Road to Mallorca will now continue in Italy with the Italian Challenge Open from 7 to 10 May at Golf Nazionale. There is a break due to the suspension of tournaments in the United Arab Emirates.
