Spain’s Alvaro Quiros edged out South Africa’s Zander Lombard at the second play-off hole to win the Rocco Forte Open in Sicily and regain his European Tour card in nerve-wracking fashion. The 34-year-old claimed 166,660 points for the win and made a huge jump in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, moving from 212th to 67th position, as he targets a return to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai taking place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 16-19.
If he were to accomplish that goal, it would mark an emotional return to the prestigious event in the United Arab Emirates for the Dubai resident for the first time since he won it in 2011, the same year in which he won the Dubai Desert Classic as he posted a career high fourth place finish in the Race to Dubai.
Quiros’ victory at the spectacular Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, one of the network of 24 world-class European Tour Properties spread across 19 countries and three continents, saw him claim his seventh European Tour title and also earned him a place in this week’s lucrative $7 million BMW PGA Championship, the first tournament in this season’s Rolex Series.
The 2011 @DPWTC winner Alvaro Quiros just regained his @EuropeanTour card after winning the Rocco Forte Open in dramatic fashion! pic.twitter.com/GZ5j3IAhaa
— DP World Tour Chm'ip (@DPWTC) May 21, 2017
“We congratulate Alvaro on a fantastic win and welcome him back onto the European Tour,” said Nick Tarratt, Director European Tour Middle East. “We have fond memories of his sensational win at the 2011 DP World Tour Championship, when he holed a 40-foot eagle putt at the last and we hope that his victory in Italy is the first step on the road to his return to the tournament.”
In the final round Quiros led by seven shots after picking up four birdies over the first six holes but his form dropped drastically over the homeward stretch as he carded four bogeys and a double bogey to allow Lombard to catch him, with the pair finishing tied at 14 under par.
After both players parred the 18th on the first return trip down the closing hole the Spaniard settled the issue at the second time of asking with another par after Lombard three-putted from 40 feet.
Lombard’s runner-up finish gained him 111,110 points saw him climb 199th to 77th in the Race to Dubai rankings.
China’s Haotong Li won 62,600 points after finishing in third place and jumped from 65th to 50th while Quiros’ fellow Spaniard Pep Angels, playing in his first season on the European Tour after graduating from last year’s Challenge Tour, secure fourth place, his highest finish of the season so far, to gain 50,000 points and move from 89th to 72nd in the rankings.
How the #RaceToDubai looks ahead of the first #RolexSeries event.
📊 Full rankings: https://t.co/xjeoigm7Kl pic.twitter.com/l2kpiqB2qi
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 22, 2017
Australia duo Marcus Fraser and Jason Scrivener shared fifth place with each of them claiming 38,700 points. Fraser progressed from 113th to 85th while Scrivener moved from 73rd to 66th.
England’s David Horsey claimed seventh place to gain 30,000 points and moved from 130th to 110th.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia remains at the head of the Race to Dubai Rankings with 2,440,596 points with England’s Tommy Fleetwood in second with a season-tally of 1,910,514 points and Jon Rahm in third on 1,509,828.
