Jorge Campillo has fallen just short of victory at the Hainan Classic on the DP World Tour. The Extremaduran had a putt of about five metres on the 18th to tie with Jordan Gumberg and force a play-off. It finally missed and he had to settle for a valuable second place, although, in the heat of the moment, it will surely feel like too little.
Campillo went out this Sunday tied with Gumberg at the top of the leaderboard and with Dylan Frittelli one shot back in third. Very soon the tournament became a head-to-head between the American and the Spaniard. Frittelli faltered straight away, with two bogeys in his first three holes and a double bogey at the 7th. In addition, the South African closed his final 18 holes without a single birdie. No chance.
Jorge and Gumberg started in completely different ways. Both birdied the 1st. A statement of intent. Soon after, a bogey from the American put the Spaniard in sole possession of the lead, a position that lasted two more holes, until Gumberg carded another birdie at the 6th, a par 5.
The lead kept changing. Campillo regained sole possession with a great birdie at the 8th, a tricky par 3. However, two bogeys in a row at the 9th and 10th handed the initiative back to Gumberg. Now it was the American who had a one-shot lead, a margin he extended to two with a superb birdie at the 11th.
Jorge still hadn’t said his last word. He produced a great birdie at the 12th and was back to one shot with six holes to play. That final third of the round was pure match play. Both showed great nerve. It was a battle of not making mistakes and trusting the putt. They carded pars hole after hole to arrive at the 18th in the same position, that is, one up for Gumberg.
All or nothing. Here the advantage was with Campillo. He played a textbook hole. A very good tee shot and a birdie chance of about five metres, while Gumberg sent his second into the long greenside bunker. The Cáceres native not only had the chance to tie, but the situation could completely turn in case of a bogey-birdie. In other words, victory was within Jorge’s reach.
However, Jordan’s sand shot was spectacular. The shot of the day, without doubt. He left himself a virtually guaranteed par and shifted all the pressure onto Campillo. It was a penalty. Only making it would do. If he holed it, a play-off. If he missed, victory for Gumberg. The putt slid by and, therefore, the 30-year-old American, who saved his card at the last minute last year, claimed the second victory of his DP World Tour career, after his triumph in South Africa in 2024.
As for Campillo, he once again falls just short of victory. It is his eleventh runner-up finish on the DP World Tour. Despite the inevitable sour taste of having come so close, Jorge makes a spectacular leap in the Race to Dubai. He moves up to 13th, just ahead of Gumberg. For now, he has already secured his tour card for 2027, although that wasn’t the season’s objective for the Norba player. In the world ranking he will move back inside the top 150.
As for the rest of the Spaniards, the best round of the day was by Rafa Cabrera Bello (-8), a 67. The Canarian secured a notable top-25 finish, as did Sebas García (-8), although the Madrid native closed with a 74, two over par. It’s his third consecutive top-25. Also, Ángel Ayora (-7) grabbed a top-30, with four rounds under par, Iván Cantero (-5) and Manu Elvira (-5) finished in the top 35, Rocco Repetto (-4) didn’t have his best day with a 72, Quim Vidal (-1) shot a 73 and Ángel Hidalgo (+5) had a day to forget
