– Bernd Wiesberger (-19) has won the Volvo China Open, his ninth victory on the DP World Tour, although almost five years after the previous one following his spell at LIV Golf. The Austrian had been clearly being overhauled by his playing partner in Sunday’s feature group, Adrián Otaegui (-16), but he was going to turn the situation around as great champions often do when under pressure, with a flash of genius.
– Indeed, it was Otaegui who dominated the first nine holes at the Shanghai Enhance Anting Golf Club, with a three-under score over that stretch and, even better, in almost complete control of virtually every shot. The Spanish-born, naturalised Emirati stood three shots clear at the turn, but you never know where and how things can go wrong…
– On the 10th, a par 5, that placid, consistent rhythm was to take a sharp turn when least expected, because Wiesberger holed a birdie chip from a position where he may well have been thinking more about saving par without too much trouble, while Adrián missed a very makeable birdie putt from about three metres. Immediately after, at 11, Otaegui left himself a birdie after playing a fantastic second shot, but the Austrian responded by draining a birdie putt from roughly six metres, downhill with a pronounced right-to-left break…
– At the 12th, a par 3, both tee shots landed on the green in very similar positions, but Otaegui three-putted and suddenly that three-shot advantage had been reduced to one. To make matters worse, at the 13th, and again with Adrián closer to the hole, the Austrian holed a fine putt and reached the co-lead. From that point Otaegui was no longer going to play so tidy and consistent. He had lost his rhythm despite being better than his opponent from tee to green and now it was he who would make more mistakes. The Spanish-Emirati still went out to play the 18th with a chance, just one shot behind Wiesberger, but a poor tee shot on that final par 5 almost settled the contest.
– Otaegui could not add a sixth win on the European circuit, but he takes away a very interesting haul from China. Among other things, because this second place (he was never in danger, as the fight in the final third of the round had already been a two-horse race), combined with the good results he had been bringing into recent events, already guarantees him at least a spot in the first end-of-season play-off, the one in Abu Dhabi, and has thrown him fully into the fight for one of the ten PGA Tour cards (he rises to 13th in the Race to Dubai). Not bad at all, considering that 2025 was probably the poorest season of his career on the European circuit. On the other hand, there is little to criticise, since today he was bested by the inspiration, genius and knack for seizing the moment of a great player, especially in that stretch of the round described above, from which Otaegui could perfectly have emerged with a four- and even five-shot lead, yet they left tied… Be that as it may, and it is no small thing, this second place is the best by a player from the United Arab Emirates in DP World Tour history. It is likely that, even this year, Adrián will be the first to win representing that flag.
– Alejandro del Rey (-10) probably needed a strong start to his round today to have serious chances, but the opposite actually happened (double bogey at the 5). Another double bogey at the 9 left him in no-man’s land, fighting for other objectives, although in the end he did string together three birdies and somehow saved the day and the result, finishing inside the top ten and gaining a few places in the rankings. His eighth-place finish is the Madrid man’s best of the season and may be the prelude to something even more important and juicy…
– Good week for Ángel Hidalgo (-7) and Quim Vidal (-7), although neither of them were able to climb much on Sunday with rounds of 71 and 70. Both, especially Vidal, will need more and better scores to straighten out or kick-start their season, but in their situation this 19th place is a positive result.
