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Maximilian Rottluff He scored his first European Challenge Tour victory at the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and his second in the Tour’s two-week swing in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The German started the final round two shots behind overnight leader Manuel Elvira. A day to forget for the Spaniard, who shot an 80-over par score to finish in a tie for 14th.Rotloof, meanwhile, shot a round 70 for a 14-under-par finish and moved a shot back of No. 1 in Mallorca. Ugo Cuso.
“It means everything,” he said. “I’m really speechless. There have been a few times this winter where I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue playing, but here I am.
“I saw the leaderboard on the 17th for the first time and thought it was going to be a close call.
“I had some good targets, which is one of the things you need on this golf course because it’s always played hard. It’s not easy to play golf here, but I’m confident. Still, to win Championship golf is stressful, especially on a golf course like this.
“There’s a lot of work and a lot of people helping me behind the scenes, and I’m very grateful to those people.”
Rottluff really made a mark on himself on move day with a course record 63 and was perfectly prepared for today’s final round.
Two bogeys on his opening eight holes wasn’t the start he might have expected, but he bounced back with three straight birdies. He missed again on the 13th hole and birdied the next two holes to move to the top of the leaderboard at 14 under. Cousaud briefly tied him, but a bogey on the par-3 17th dropped him to 13 under, and a birdie miss on the final hole meant Rottloof’s Par was good enough to win the Emirates Challenge.
Rottluff moved up to 14th in the standings heading to Mallorca, his first race of the season. It also grants him the right to compete on the Challenge Tour for the remainder of the season.
“It changed everything for me,” he said. “I’ve been checking maybe five times a day to see if I’m in the game for the last two weeks, and now I know I can play every event I want on the Challenge Tour.
“Now that I can plan, maybe I’ll rent a bigger van for the rest of the season, so that’s fantastic for me.
“I’m so happy to be home and see my kids and my friends.”
Scottish Craig Howey and the dutch Lars van Mayer Tied for third at 12 under par.
Spanish Ivan Cantero Gutierrez tied for fifth james allen From England, 11 under par, with the Italian Matthew Manassero Sixth was one stroke behind.
Road to Mallorca travels to the Netherlands for the B-NL Challenge Trophy at Twentsche GC from May 18th to 21st.
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