Rozner and Reynolds in the winner's circle again
Antonie Rozner with the 2021 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters trophy
Antoine Rozner praised Irish caddie, Darren Reynolds, for reminding him to stay patient after he made an outrageous 60-foot birdie putt on the 18th to claim the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and his second European Tour title in six starts.
The Frenchman, who moves to ninth place in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex, carded a stunning 68 in high winds on day three having begun the final round at Education City Golf Club three shots off the lead.
In calmer conditions in round four, he hit the top of the leaderboard as he turned in 33, but Italian Guido Migliozzi joined him at the summit as he signed for an impressive bogey-free 65.
The 28-year-old left himself a long way from the pin on the last, it looked like Rozner needed two putts for a play-off but he drained an incredible double breaker over the ridge to sign for a 67 and finish at eight under.
“It’s unreal, even in my biggest dreams, I couldn’t imagine anything like this happening to be honest,” said Rozner, who will move inside the top 64 in the world who will qualify for the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play Championship later this month.
“I didn’t hole anything really today, and it’s just unreal. I don’t really know what to say, it’s probably the biggest moment of my career.
“Amazing feeling. Winning a golf tournament is the best feeling in the world so getting it done this way, with such a big putt on the last, I don’t know what to say but in my biggest dreams I wouldn’t have thought of anything like this. Crazy run today.”
Rozner left it to caddie Reynolds to watch the scoreboard and a reminder by the Bray man to remain patient proved key.
“I think my caddie Darren knew what was going on and he was just telling me to keep doing what I was doing, because I was asking for scores, and he wouldn’t tell me,” said Rozner whose win was his second in his last six events, coming just three months after his maiden win at the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World.
“He said stay patient, it was a bit frustrating not to hole many putts on the back nine and I guess it was a good way to wait (for 18).
“For sure the first win helped a lot. I wasn’t really feeling any stress down the straight, so that is a good thing. I think two-time winner on the European Tour is a huge deal, so I am just going to enjoy the next few days as much as I can.
“I think the road is still long. I am hanging around there, but the Ryder Cup is in a long time. It is definitely a goal and a dream to play in the Ryder Cup, but still a long way to go."
As for his relationship with Reynolds, he added: “This is our second season together – so been together over a year now. He brings the experience, this is his 24th season. He knows the game, he knows what it takes to win and what it is to compete at a high level. He brings a lot of confidence in my game. He knows all the courses, so that helps a lot.”
India's Gaganjeet Bhullar and South African Darren Fichardt finished alongside Migliozzi a shot off the lead, two clear of Welshman Jamie Donaldson and England's Richard McEvoy.
Ardglass’ Cormac Sharvin tied for 64th on eight-over after making three birdies and four bogeys in a final round 72, earning €3,628 as Rozner won €190,836.
Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, Education City Golf Club (Par 71)
276 A Rozner (Fra) 69 72 68 67,
277 G Migliozzi (Ita) 71 67 74 65, G Bhullar (Ind) 67 73 68 69, D Fichardt (RSA) 68 68 70 71,
279 R McEvoy (Eng) 65 73 73 68, J Donaldson (Wal) 68 68 73 70,
280 B Stone (RSA) 69 68 73 70, C Paisley (Eng) 67 70 73 70,
281 N Lemke (Swe) 70 72 72 67, K Kitayama (USA) 67 69 75 70, T Detry (Bel) 66 72 72 71, J Hansen (Den) 66 71 72 72,
282 T Pieters (Bel) 68 69 76 69,
283 L Van Meijel (Ned) 69 72 73 69, S Norris (RSA) 69 70 73 71, J Veerman (USA) 71 69 72 71, J Winther (Den) 67 67 77 72, F Zanotti (Par) 67 70 74 72,
284 A Bjork (Swe) 68 73 78 65, A Sullivan (Eng) 69 74 73 68, H Du Plessis (RSA) 65 74 77 68, J Smith (Eng) 69 74 71 70, G Higgo (RSA) 66 71 77 70, G Forrest (Sco) 71 68 75 70, M Antcliff (Aus) 69 72 72 71, Y Chang (Kor) 70 71 71 72, N Bertasio (Ita) 65 72 74 73,
285 D Drysdale (Sco) 70 72 73 70, K Samooja (Fin) 65 71 78 71, S Sharma (Ind) 71 68 75 71, D Whitnell (Eng) 68 72 73 72, C Shinkwin (Eng) 70 68 73 74, L Gagli (Ita) 68 70 73 74, J Campillo (Esp) 67 74 70 74,
286 R Santos (Por) 71 71 74 70, J Walters (RSA) 73 70 72 71, S Crocker (USA) 68 73 73 72, D Law (Sco) 64 75 75 72, M Pavon (Fra) 68 69 75 74, R Jacquelin (Fra) 70 69 73 74, J Senior (Eng) 68 68 71 79,
287 A Chesters (Eng) 72 70 76 69, J Catlin (USA) 70 70 75 72, L De Jager (RSA) 68 72 75 72, S Jamieson (Sco) 67 71 76 73, J Lagergren (Swe) 66 72 76 73,
288 W Besseling (Ned) 72 69 76 71, R Enoch (Wal) 69 74 73 72, M Armitage (Eng) 69 72 72 75,
289 J Suri (USA) 70 68 84 67, R Rock (Eng) 72 71 78 68, P Figueiredo (Por) 67 74 76 72, G Fernandez-Castaño (Esp) 69 70 78 72, M Kieffer (Ger) 67 75 74 73, J Janewattananond (Tha) 69 70 76 74, R Langasque (Fra) 70 70 75 74, A Levy (Fra) 71 72 71 75,
290 A Cañizares (Esp) 73 69 79 69, R Ramsay (Sco) 69 74 77 70, T Tree (Eng) 67 75 78 70, B Hebert (Fra) 71 72 75 72,
291 D Coupland (Eng) 69 74 73 75, C Syme (Sco) 69 72 75 75,
292 Cormac Sharvin (Nir) 70 73 77 72, W Nienaber (RSA) 69 71 77 75, C Wood (Eng) 73 68 75 76, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 71 75 77,
293 M Kinhult (Swe) 70 73 80 70, N Elvira (Esp) 69 73 77 74, S Brown (Eng) 69 74 73 77,
294 M Schwab (Aut) 71 71 75 77,
296 F Laporta (Ita) 68 73 78 77
