Pablo Larrazábal won the Korea Championship by two shots after producing a back-nine birdie blitz to see off a high-quality chasing pack.
A tight battle unfolded at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea on Sunday afternoon, with Larrazábal finding himself in a five-way share of the lead on nine under when he reached the turn following two front-nine birdies.
The Spaniard slipped from the summit after dropping his first shot of the round at the 10th but roared back, making four birdies in the next five holes to open up a three-shot lead.
He then safely parred his way home to complete a closing 67, finish the tournament on 12 under par and claim an eighth DP World Tour title just a couple of weeks before his 40th birthday.
Dane Marcus Helligkilde signed for a fourth-round 68 to finish in solo second on 10 under, one clear of home favourite Park Sanghyun, Spain’s Jorge Campillo, Dutchman Joost Luiten and Scotland’s Scott Jamieson.
South Africans Deon Germishuys and Justin Walters shot 74 and 72 on Sunday to finish on two over (T61) and three over (T65) respectively.
Louis de Jager, Bryce Easton, Zander Lombard and Jacques Kruyswijk all missed the weekend cut, while Shaun Norris withdrew during the second round.
Sealing victory no.8 on the DP World Tour 🇪🇸@plarrazabal | #KoreaChampionship pic.twitter.com/z3aR1DHFEC
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 30, 2023
Larrazábal went into the final round one shot off the lead having bogeyed the 17th when he returned to complete his third round on Sunday morning.
But he took advantage of both of the front nine’s par fives – the 3rd and 7th – in round four to share the lead at the turn.
After starting the back nine with a disappointing bogey, Larrazábal bounced back with two consecutive birdies from around five feet at the 11th and 12th to grab the outright lead on 10 under.
He created another good chance at the par-three 13th but was unable to convert his 15-foot putt.
A successful 20-foot birdie effort on the 14th green stretched Larrazábal’s lead to two strokes before he got a lucky break at the 15th.
His tee-shot appeared to be going out of bounds but a fortuitous bounce sent the ball back down the slope and onto the cart path.
He made the most of his break, using his second shot to get the ball back in play before lifting his approach to two feet to set up a bonus birdie.
Holding a three-shot lead with three holes remaining, Larrazábal safely parred the 16th and 17th before finishing his round with another par on the last to clinch the trophy.
Larrazábal felt his performance in windy conditions on Saturday contributed greatly to his victory.
“Yesterday was a battle,” he said. “I actually didn’t look at the leaderboard too much yesterday because I knew that it was a long road and it was all about keeping the ball in the best spots that I could putt or chip from.
“To shoot one under par yesterday was amazing. Obviously I was a little bit disappointed this morning to finish bogey-par in yesterday’s round.
“But I love to compete, I love to fly out here, to see all these young guys hitting it miles and try to beat them.
“And that’s what makes me the happiest guy in the world.”
– Edited report from DP World Tour website
