Kearney 31st as Rozner claims maiden win
Antoine Rozner. Picture: Getty Images
Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney tied for 31st as Antoine Rozner claimed his maiden European Tour title at the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World.
Tied for 21st overnight, Kearney made an eagle, a birdie and two bogeys in a closing 71 to finishes on 13-under, picking up €7,545.
After a stellar final round performance, French ace Rozner came from four shots back to seal a two-stroke victory (€160,342) for him and Irish caddie Darren Reynolds at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The 27-year-old was neck-and-neck with Andy Sullivan down the stretch but it was a superlative second shot into the par-five 18th hole which sealed the deal as a two-putt birdie earned the European Tour Rookie an eight under final round 64 and a 25 under total.
That moved him to 24th in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex as he looks forward to a debut in next week's DP World Championship, Dubai, confident in the knowledge that his two Challenge Tour victories in 2019 came in back-to-back fashion.
Sullivan, who had led the field after each of the opening three rounds, had a disappointing day as two bogeys contributed to his worst round of the week, a two under 70 which left him in a share of second alongside three others.
Sullivan’s English compatriot Matt Wallace enjoyed a stunning back nine which comprised five birdies and four pars to sign for a four under 68 and a joint second place finish. Mike Lorenzo Vera’s second successive 65 meant he joined the English duo on 23 under, as did Italy’s Francesco Laporta, who finished with four birdies in a row for a closing 66 and the best result of his European Tour career.
Player Quotes
Antoine Rozner: "So many feelings. I’ve been close twice this year in Mauritius and in Valderrama, I couldn’t close it out, so I’m just very happy with how I played this week and especially today. A 64 on a Sunday is always a pretty good score so to get it done in this fashion was a big deal for me.
"To be honest I had no idea what was going on. I just knew Mike was playing well because I saw his name pop up at some point on the leaderboards. I only knew I was the leader when I was on the 18thgreen. I think that actually helped me a little bit, I didn’t want to know what was going on.
"I told my caddie I don’t want to know, we just need to keep pushing and doing what we’re doing, keep being aggressive and I think that was a good strategy.
"I was quite calm to be honest, I was a bit pumped up obviously. I’m really glad that last putt was really close because otherwise it would have been a long three- or four-footer. I’m really surprised with how I handled it to be honest, I just kept pushing until the last hole so that was the key for me.
"I knew I was in the final event already before this week, but to get it done and win a tournament is just amazing. I didn’t play any Rolex Series events this season so for me to play the biggest tournament of the year, the final, is a big deal. The top players will be there so I’m very excited to compete at the next level and I think it will be very challenging and interesting for me."
Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World, Fire Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai (Par 72)
263 A Rozner (Fra) 63 69 67 64,
265 A Sullivan (Eng) 61 66 68 70, M Wallace (Eng) 63 67 67 68, F Laporta (Ita) 65 69 65 66, M Lorenzo-vera (Fra) 69 66 65 65,
267 G Forrest (Sco) 66 68 70 63,
268 R Fisher (Eng) 63 67 68 70,
269 N Lemke (Swe) 66 68 66 69, S Brown (Eng) 70 63 69 67, M Warren (Sco) 64 70 68 67, J Lagergren (Swe) 67 68 67 67, B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 66 66 67,
270 R Paratore (Ita) 68 65 65 72, M Schmitt (Ger) 68 64 68 70, T Olesen (Den) 69 64 69 68, S Valimaki (Fin) 70 68 65 67, C Sordet (Fra) 68 70 66 66,
271 R Karlberg (Swe) 65 69 71 66,
272 R Macintyre (Sco) 66 68 66 72, S Soderberg (Swe) 67 69 68 68, J Morrison (Eng) 67 72 67 66,
273 S Crocker (Usa) 68 66 68 71, L Scalise (Ita) 65 68 71 69, D Horsey (Eng) 71 67 68 67,
274 C Howie (Sco) 64 68 70 72, T Pieters (Bel) 67 68 68 71, B Ritthammer (Ger) 68 67 70 69, J Smith (Eng) 69 68 68 69, P Waring (Eng) 68 68 72 66,
275 O Lengden (Swe) 64 69 67 75, S Gallacher (Sco) 69 69 66 71, Niall Kearney (Irl) 71 67 66 71, M Korhonen (Fin) 66 69 71 69, D Willett (Eng) 67 67 73 68, C Shinkwin (Eng) 68 68 71 68, M Baldwin (Eng) 71 70 67 67,
276 J Axelsen (Den) 66 67 71 72, A Otaegui (Esp) 68 68 69 71, M Kaymer (Ger) 66 71 69 70, T Detry (Bel) 68 72 66 70, J Janewattananond (Tha) 66 70 72 68, P Angles (Esp) 65 73 71 67, N Colsaerts (Bel) 72 67 71 66, M Jordan (Eng) 73 68 69 66,
277 A Knappe (Ger) 70 68 68 71, M Armitage (Eng) 68 69 71 69, S Horsfield (Eng) 68 70 70 69, R Rock (Eng) 70 70 68 69, N Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 70 67 73 67,
278 A Rai (Eng) 70 69 67 72, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 69 71 69,
279 H Long (Ger) 70 68 69 72, D Perrier (Fra) 67 69 72 71, R Wattel (Fra) 71 66 72 70, R Sciot-Siegrist (Fra) 69 72 69 69,
280 H Li (Chn) 67 72 68 73, W Besseling (Ned) 73 65 71 71,
281 T Pulkkanen (Fin) 67 69 73 72, J Senior (Eng) 68 69 72 72, E Walker (Sco) 71 70 70 70, M Keyser (Rsa) 70 69 73 69,
282 J Fahrbring (Swe) 68 70 71 73, E Cuartero Blanco (Esp) 69 68 73 72, A Wilson (Eng) 74 67 70 71, M Kinhult (Swe) 69 72 71 70,
283 J Campillo (Esp) 66 71 70 76,
285 E Ferguson (Sco) 72 69 73 71,
287 J Stalter (Fra) 70 68 70 79, S Tiley (Eng) 69 71 70 77, J Wrisdale (Eng) 72 67 74 74,
288 P Oriol (Esp) 73 68 76 71, 290 B Evans (Eng) 71 66 77 76,
