French Victor Perez won the Abu Dhabi tournament, his third victory on the European circuit (EPGA), notably by achieving an exceptional shot on the 17th hole on Sunday. At 30, the golfer signs his third victory on the European circuit in 91 tournaments, after the Dunhill Links in 2019 and the Dutch Open last June.
Current 111th in the world, thanks to this success, he takes the lead in the European Tour standings with 1,335 points. He should return to around 60th place in the world rankings, almost within putt range of the Top 50, which guarantees participation in the Masters in March.
“A strong moment”
Off to a good start on Sunday, he made an anthology 17th hole (par 3): silted up, he managed an exit from the bunker with a retro effect which gave him a decisive birdie (-19). “It was fantastic, I think you always have to be a little lucky, and there are always decisive blows in the game on which everything is decided, declared Victor Perez, very moved after his victory. My exit from the bunker on the 17th hole will undoubtedly remain a highlight”.
“I just tried to get the ball back to the hole knowing that if it was a bit heavy, it was probably going to come back down to the hole. In my head, I thought that in the best of the cases I was going to end up with a stroke in advance or a draw [avec Soderberg]but I ended up two shots ahead, which is huge,” said the 30-year-old golfer.