Alejandro Del Rey scored the biggest win of his career with a commanding four-shot victory at the DP World Tour’s Las Al Khaimah Championship.
Del Rey took a two-shot lead on the final day at Al Hamra GC in the United Arab Emirates and never relinquished control, birdieing three of her first five holes and quickly putting the chasing pack behind her. I pulled away.
The Spaniard shot a bogey-free 66 to finish the week at 22 under and win his first DP World Tour title. England’s Marcus Armitage, playing alongside Del Rey and Jason Skriner, took second place with a 4-under 68.
David Puig, who made five birdies in his final six holes, shot a round of 65 on the day and moved into third place ahead of Scribner. England’s Joe Dean tied for fifth place with Ivan Cantero and Sebastian Soderbergh.
Former Masters champion Patrick Reed finished tied for eighth in a group that included Scotland’s Scott Jamieson, while Adrian Sadier scored a stunning hole-in-one on the par-3 seventh with a final-round 68.
How Del Rey wrapped up her Middle East victory
Del Rey birdied the first, hit her approach within tap-in on the second, and made a 10-foot birdie on the par-4 fifth to take complete control of the tournament with a five-shot lead.
Armitage started with six straight pars, but made back-to-back birdies starting at the seventh, closing in on Del Rey by three at the turn, but his partner chipped in from the 11th green to extend his lead.
Del Rey recovered from a wayward drive on the next par 4, hit the green in regulation and went for birdie from a 50-foot hole, then added one more on the 13th to advance by six, but Armitage I couldn’t meet your efforts.
Armitage closed the gap on the par-5 14th, but couldn’t get close to Del Rey. Del Rey finished her bogey-free round with a tap-in par before being greeted by several Spanish players on the 18th green.
“It’s amazing,” Del Rey said. “Last year I reached a point where I wasn’t having as much fun on the course because for me there wasn’t much point in just playing for 20th or 30th place.
“Ever since then, I’ve been working hard because I didn’t want to be in that position forever. I feel like I’ve played with a lot of my friends over the years who have made it here, and I feel like I can do it too. I know.’ It just didn’t show up, and I’m glad it finally did. ”
Armitage rolled in from the last 10 feet of the par-5 for a 4-under 68, his best result on the DP World Tour since the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
“Alejandro was great today,” Armitage said. “I fought hard, but I didn’t do well early on, which put me behind the eight ball. I played well and broke down some walls that I didn’t think I could do, and now I am proud of myself.
“Today wasn’t my weekend, but I’m sure there will be weekends in the future. It was great! The point I learned today is that I can plan my schedule a little more clearly and have more time. I mean, ‘I just go home and build on that. ”
What’s next?
The DP World Tour will be in the Middle East for the Bapco Energy Bahrain Championship, the latest event in the ‘International Swing’, to be held at the Royal GC in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Live coverage will begin on Sky Sports Golf from 8.30am on Thursday. get sky sports or Stream without a contract with NOW.