Rasmus Højgaard won a play-off at the third extra hole to claim the AfrAsia Bank Open and become the third youngest winner on the European Tour. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RASMUS Højgaard became the third-youngest winner in European Tour history with a dramatic play-off triumph at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

The 18-year-old Dane birdied the 72nd hole to get to 19-under alongside Italian Renato Paratore and Frenchman Antoine Rozner as the event went to a play-off for the third time in as many stagings at Heritage Golf Club.

Højgaard missed a 12-foot eagle putt for the title on the first trip back up the par five 18^th hole but – after halving the hole in birdies with Rozner at the second attempt – made a three from similar range at the third time of asking to take the title.

Rasmus Højgaard, who was showered with Champagne on the 18th green, said: “I’m lost for words. It’s amazing and I’m over the moon. This is a dream come true for me.

“I just kept telling myself to believe in yourself and trust the number. I did what I could and it was enough for me to win.

“I was obviously nervous, playing in my first play-off, but I was in a situation where I had nothing to lose.

“So, I was confident especially with my shots coming in. It was pretty cool to close out the 18^th hole.

“My approach shots were all very good there and I just managed to do what I had to do.

“It’s cool to win so early in my career and it’s something just very amazing and I’m looking forward to the next challenge.”

At 18 years and 271 days old, only Italian Matteo Manassero – who won twice as a 17-year-old – and New Zealander Danny Lee have won on the European Tour at a younger age.

Højgaard came to prominence in 2018 when Denmark won the Eisenhower Trophy at the World Amateur Team Championship, playing alongside identical twin Nicolai and John Axelsen.

The Rasmus brothers were also in the European team at the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup.

Nicolai finished second to Sergio Garcia at last season’s KLM Open but after becoming the first player born in the 21st century to graduate from the Qualifying School, Rasmus is now a European Tour winner in just his fifth event.

That makes him the fastest Dane to a European Tour win, beating 15-time winner Thomas Bjorn – the winning 2018 Ryder Cup captain, whose maiden victory came after 24 events.

Renato Paratore – whose sole win came in the 2017 Nordea Masters having won his card at European Tour Qualifying School as a 17-year-old – said: “I pulled my second shot too much to the left.

“It was not the best shot I made and it landed off the green and I knew I had no chance,” added 22-year-old Paratore.

“I could have aimed more to the right. I played really solid all week and even though I didn’t win in the play-off, overall it has been a good week.”

Belgium’s Thomas Detry, Scotland’s Grant Forrest, Benjamin Hebert, from France and South African Louis de Jager finished one shot behind the leading trio on 18-under.

Another Frenchman – Robin Sciot-Siegrest – who graduated via the top 15 on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca rankings was one shot further back in solo eighth position.

Julien Guerrier was the fourth Frenchmen inside the top 10 at 16-under, alongside South African Oliver Bekker, American Sihwan Kim, and Scotland’s Connor Syme.

Antoine Rozner, who had back-to-back wins on the Challenge Tour in May, and was looking good for his own breakthrough victory on the back nine, said: “Everything comes down to one play-off hole.”

“I made some amazing birdies on the first two play-off holes. I have nothing to regret. I gave my best.

“Congratulations to Rasmus. He hit some amazing shots down the stretch.”

•For final scores from the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, click here.

The post Rasmus Højgaard, 18, third youngest-ever winner on the European Tour after play-off appeared first on Golf North.

Antoine Rozner fired a seven-under 65 to lead after the first round of China’s Hainan Open on the European Challenge Tour. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

A BOGEY on the final hole denied Antoine Rozner a blemish-free opening round at the European Challenge Tour’s Hainan Open, in China.

But the Frenchman will nevertheless take a commanding two-stroke lead into day two after carding a seven-under par round of 65.

Rozner, who has won twice on the Road to Mallorca this season, made five birdies prior to the turn after starting his quest for a third victory of 2019 on the 10th tee at Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club.

Three more gains and that single bogey arrived on the back nine as the rest of the field were able to match one of the tournament’s early starters.

Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan posted a bogey-free 67 to sit in second place, while Frenchman Damien Perrier, Denmark’s Benjamin Poke and late-finisher Josh Geary, from New Zealand were a stroke further back on four-under after opening rounds of 68.

Rozner – winner of the Open de España and Prague Golf Challenge and looking for a third win that would guarantee automatic promotion to the Europrean Tour – acknowledged the quality of his play in China.

But he also admitted to getting a bit of luck along the way. “It was great,” said Rozner, who lies second in the Road to Mallorca rankings, needing a place in the top 15 to earn his full European Tour card for 2020.

“It was just one of those days where I hit a lot of good shots, a lot of good putts and made very few mistakes.

“When I did have a mistake, I got a good bounce and saved par. I got some good reads and it was one of those days where everything just went right.

“I played great and I think if I can keep playing like this for the next three days, I should be in pretty good shape ” added Rozner.

The 26-year-old’s undoubted highlight was a tricky downhill birdie putt from 25 feet on the fourth hole, which he was delighted to convert for a superb up-and-down from the bunker.

“I hit a good drive into the reachable par four and I was in the bunker with an uphill lie,” said Rozner. “It was quite a long bunker shot, so it wasn’t easy and I left it short.

“The putt was really, really fast and I was just looking to put it around the hole, to be honest. It ended up going in, so it was definitely the highlight of the day.”

With temperatures peaking at 33 degrees Celsius in Hainan, Rozner is keeping a keen focus on maintaining his energy levels ahead of the second round.

“I’m not going to waste much energy on the range,” he said. “It’s quite exhausting out there because the wind is swirling and it’s very hot.

“Saving energy is going to be key this week so I’ve got to be careful by staying hydrated and getting some good night’s sleep.”

Kiwi Geary came closest to matching Rozner’s total but two bogeys in his final three holes dropped him back into a tie for third.

That left him one shot clear of eight players on three-under including Zhang Jin and Xiao Bowen, who are currently the leading Chinese players.

The second round will begin at 7.10am local time, with Rozner due on the tee at 12.10pm.

•For live scoring in the Hainan Open click here.

The post Red-hot Rozner in front as Frenchman seeks automatic promotion at Hainan Open appeared first on Golf North.

Denmark’s Martin Simonsen shot an excellent 66 to share the lead at the Golf Club de Geneve, in Switzerland, after the first round of the Rolex Trophy. Picture by ROLEX

WILTSHIRE’S Ben Stow, Adrian Meronk, Martin Simonsen recorded six-under par 66S to share the lead at the Rolex Trophy, in Switzerland.

The trio, who all carded bogey-free front nine scores, started quickly on Wednesday morning, and ended the day with a share of the one-stroke lead at the top of the leaderboard at Switzerland’s Golf Club de Genève in this week’s Eurpean Challenge Tour event.

Both Poland’s Meronk and Simonsen, from Denmark, are making their maiden appearances in the exclusive 40-man Rolex Trophy and showed no signs of inexperience following their low rounds.

Stow – the winner of the Brabazon Trophy, awarded at the English Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship, back in 2014 – finished in a share of eighth place 12 months ago.

Last year’s Prague Challenge Open winner – who is attacked to Rushmore Golf Club on the edge of the New Forest, continued his good form on the Geneva course with a round of 66,

The University of Kentucky graduate, who represented England in the Eisenhower Trophy in 2014, included seven birdies and only one bogey.

Dane Simonsen raced out of the blocks with six birdies in his front nine, including three in a row ahead of the turn, and returned to the clubhouse in level par after a bogey and a birdie among seven pars.

“I would’ve taken that score this morning,” said Simonsen. “I was hoping for a little more after the front nine I had when I was six-under par after nine holes, which was nice.

“And I had a good look at the 10th for birdie to get to seven-under, but six-under is good and I’m happy with it.

“I played really well on seven, eight and nine, where I had fairly easy birdies. I lost momentum a little on the back nine.

“I hit a good shot on 11 but miscalculated the wind so it came up short and then I missed a short putt for par.

“It’s always nice being towards the top of the leaderboard, so hopefully I can put together a couple of good rounds and see where we end up.”

Meronk made back-to-back birdies to begin his inaugural round at Golf Club de Genève before carding the first of two eagles at the par five fifth hole.

His only dropped shot of the day came at the 10th, but he responded with a birdie at the 13th and his second eagle at the par five 15th to reach the six-under target.

“It was a very solid day,” said Meronk. “I played really well and I’m very pleased with my game.

“It’s only the first day but it’s a good position to be in. There is still a lot of golf to be played but I’m excited for the next three days.

“They were solid eagles on two of the par fives. I hit two solid shots off the tee, which you need to do around here, and that allowed me to go for the green in two, so I was very happy with those two holes.”

The trio hold a one-shot lead over a group of four players, including Challenge Tour No. 1 and 2 Calum Hill and Antoine Rozner.

The pair sit alongside Spaniard Carlos Pigem and Ricardo Santos, from Portgual, in a tie for fourth after carding 67s.

Simonsen gets the second round under way at 7.30am local time while Stow is off at 8.20am and Meronk at 12.30pm. For live scoring click here.

The post Stow looking to go low in time to convert Rolex Trophy form into his second victory appeared first on Golf North.

CALUM Hill will attempt to join a select number of players to seal their European Tour card at the Rolex Trophy when the action gets under way on Wednesday.

The Scotsman has won twice during the 2019 European Challenge Tour season at the Euram Bank Open and the Made in Denmark Challenge.

The Gleneagles pro will look to claim his third title of the year at Golf Club de Genève and seal immediate promotion to the European Tour via the three-win rule.

Following the success of the ISPS Handa World Invitational last week, where men and women played for equal prize funds, the Rolex Trophy brings another different format as the top 39 ranked players, plus one invite, will play alongside amateurs in the four-day pro-am contest, which finishes on Saturday.

Last year’s champion Kim Koivu was the fourth player to complete the three-win feat in Geneva, clinching his third victory of the year at the event, following in the footsteps of Benjamin Hebert, Kristoffer Broberg and Nacho Elvira, who achieved the same success in 2011, 2012 and 2015, respectively.

“I’ve definitely thought about it,” said Hill. “I’m not just playing to see what happens, I want to play well and get that third win.”

Hill added: “If that happens, then that is the goal achieved, and if not, then I’ll hopefully stay inside the top 15 in the Rankings and get my European Tour card that way.”

Hill, who claimed his first professional win on the Challenge Tour at the Galgorm Resort & Spa Northern Ireland Open 12 months ago, has continued to impress this year, recording two wins, a tied third, and a share of seventh in his last four outings to become the new Challenge Tour No. 1.

The recent upturn in form began on home soil at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, where he carded rounds of 68, 64, 71 and 66 to earn a share of 26th place.

However, it is the work at the beginning of the year which the Scotsman points towards, having reaped the benefits over the past four weeks.

Hill revealed: “I think for most players the aim at the start of the year is to finish as high as possible.

“So if that means being No. 1 then that’s brilliant, but there is still lots of time left in the season but it is nice to be there right now.

“Work that has gone on for the past six months has fallen into place now. I wouldn’t say there are factors or assets that have clicked in my game, I just think I’m playing better golf.”

Antoine Rozner, who Hill overtook in the rankings last week, also has the chance to become the fifth player to win the Rolex Trophy and seal European Tour playing rights at the same time, following his wins at the Challenge de España and Prague Golf Challenge.

The pair will tee off at 12.05pm local time with the Rolex Trophy getting under way at 8:30am on August 21. For live scoring click here.

The post Hill can make it a hat-trick at Rolex Trophy and clock up promotion to European Tour appeared first on Golf North.