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ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The best shot of Victor Perez’s life may have kicked off the Frenchman’s best year in golf.
Perez Punch the bunker back into the hole to catch the bird His 6-under 66 at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday secured the No. 17 victory and earned him his third and easily the largest DP on the World Tour champion.
“It was probably the best shot I ever hit,” Perez said.
Full time score at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship
In Yas Island Links’ wild finale, the drama isn’t over yet.
Perez had a two-shot lead on the par-5 18th tee shot into a fairway bunker, almost in the water with his second shot, and two-putted for bogey.
Min Woo Lee, who was playing in the back group, needed eagle on the final shot to get into a playoff, and his third shot just over the hole before rolling down the hill a foot from the cup. Only then can Perez watch TV in the scorer’s cabin and truly celebrate winning some $1.5 million in one of the tour’s top events.
It could be a life-changing victory for Perez, who climbs to second place in the European Ryder Cup qualifying standings. At least it looks likely that there are captains who choose to play against the United States in places other than Rome.
Perez was on the verge of tears when asked how the win had affected his career.
“There’s a lot of big things going on, I had a really good offseason, I worked really hard…” an emotional Perez said, before walking away and covering his face with his hands.
Perez shot 18 under for the tournament, with Sebastian Soderbergh (67) and Lee (68) tied for second. His previous victories on tour came at the Dunhill Links Championship in 2019 and the Dutch Open last May.
After the third round, Lee was tied for the lead with major champions Sean Lowry and Francisco Molinari, but the back nine faded on the back nine.
Lowry, in particular, tied for 28th with a tough 76 after a bogey-bogey-triple bogey-bogey. Molinari shot a 71 and tied for fifth.
Perez birdied four of his first seven holes and twice led by two early in the final round.
He did it again after playing the par-3 17th. With a one-shot lead at that stage, Perez’s tee shot came short and landed in a green bunker. His second shot came about 10 feet from the hole and back, Perez jumped out of the sand and chest-butted his caddy.
“He came up maybe a little skinny, I’m not going to lie,” he said, “and he straddled back and I was lucky to get the ball in.”
Perez talked of more “luck” on the 18th hole, when he missed his second shot and saw the ball roll down the hill and end up in thick grass near the water hazard.
“I’m going to have to give up, you’re hitting 4, you grab the Flyers and now the whole thing is back on the table,” he said.
However, that didn’t happen. Perez chipped from the rough and hit a pin-high 7-iron under pressure from 150 yards.
Perez, who missed out on the European team for the 2021 Ryder Cup, is also in a good position early in qualifying. Now that he’s topping the Race to Dubai leaderboard and on the verge of breaking into the top 60 in the world, he wants to make amends.
“I know it’s a position—basically, I wore these shoes for Whistling Straits 2.5 years ago,” he says. “I’m happy because it’s something I wish I knew, I could take some lessons from it and maybe use it in the future.”
Padraig Harrington, a 51-year-old Irishman and three-time major champion, was alone in fourth after a closing 67, two strokes behind Perez.
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