Pablo Larrazábal claimed his seventh DP World Tour title – and his first on home soil – after reeling off five birdies in a row around the turn to win the ISPS Handa Championship in Spain by one shot.
The popular Spaniard began the final round at Infinitum’s Lakes Course in a tie for sixth but catapulted himself into the lead with birdies at the 4th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th.
His only bogey came at the difficult 15th but he did not let that derail his challenge, responding with an outstanding birdie on the 16th and following that up with another gain at the last to sign for a 62 and set the clubhouse target at 15 under par.
But with the trio in the final group – Adrian Otaegui, South Africa’s Hennie du Plessis and Aaron Cockerill – all just two strokes behind Larrazábal with three holes still to complete, he faced an anxious wait to discover his fate.
He was able to celebrate his second victory in as many months after his challengers were unable to force a playoff.
Fellow Spaniard Otaegui finished alone in second on 14 under after notching a birdie at the 18th, with Du Plessis and Cockerill another shot back in third.
What it feels like to win on home soil for the first time @plarrazabal😁 #ISPSHandaChampionship pic.twitter.com/5qbpLDfulX
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 24, 2022
Larrazábal went into the final round three shots off the lead after completing the last nine holes of his third round on Sunday morning.
He opened round four with three straight pars before firing a birdie from around 12 feet at the par-three 4th.
The 38-year-old picked up another shot on the short 7th after sending his tee-shot to tap-in range despite the awkward pin position.
The nerveless Spaniard then caught fire around the turn, reeling off birdies at the 9th, 10th and 11th to get within one shot of the lead.
And he refused to take his foot off the gas as he holed a stunning long-range birdie putt from the fringe at the 12th to grab a share of the lead on 13 under.
The birdie run continued with a fifth straight gain at the 13th as Larrazábal spun his approach to two feet to take the outright lead.
He came agonisingly close to holing another huge birdie effort on the 14th green but his putt slid just by.
A first bogey of the day came at the 15th as he failed to get up and down from the rough, and it was not long before he found himself in a four-way tie on 13 under alongside Otaegui, Du Plessis and Cockerill.
But last month’s MyGolfLife Open winner Larrazábal bounced back with an unlikely birdie from around 40 feet at the 16th to lead on his own once more.
WHAT a time to do that! @plarrazabal breaks free of the group on -13 to regain the lead on his own.#ISPSHandaChampionship pic.twitter.com/yH3UvNN9Tp
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 24, 2022
He came within a whisker of holing another enormous putt for birdie at the short 17th before treating the home crowds at the 18th to a closing gain to move two shots clear of the chasing pack.
– Report from DP World Tour website
