American Kurt Kitayama sealed a two-stroke victory at the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita in what was only his third start as a European Tour member catapulting him to second place in this season’s Race to Dubai.
The 25-year-old, who earned his European Tour card via Qualifying School last month, carded a closing 68 to win by two strokes and with it he collected 335 Race to Dubai points, putting his season tally so far at 347.9 to trail leader Aaron Rai by 112.1 points.
France’s Matthieu Pavon earned 173.5 points for his share of second place alongside India’s S. Chikkarangappa to move to sixth in the Race to Dubai while South Africa’s Justin Harding climbed into the top ten in the Rankings thanks to his fourth place finish, which secured him 100 points.
5. ↕️ 4. 🏖️ 3. 💯 2. 👀 1. 😲
The five best shots from the #ABMO… pic.twitter.com/FjGm3725AO
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 3, 2018
Meanwhile, as home favourite Cameron Smith successfully defended his Australian PGA Championship title with a two-stroke win over Marc Leishman, there was a welcome return to form for Englishman Ross McGowan with his third place finish in Queensland.
McGowan, who finished runner-up at the inaugural DP World Tour Championship, Dubai in 2009, carded a final round 63 to take a share of third place and with it he earned 112.5 Race to Dubai points to begin his campaign in ninth place in the season-long rankings.
Australia’s Jason Scrivener finished in a share of sixth place to earn 60 points, taking his season-tally to 214.5 to sit comfortably in fourth place in the Race to Dubai.
The 2019 DP World Tour Championship takes place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday 21 to Sunday 24 November.
