
Adrien Saddier finally entered the winners circle at his 200th DP World Tour start during the Italian Open at Argentario Golf Club. The Frenchman started his final round one stroke behind Martin Couvra, who won the Turkish Airlines Open last month.
Saddier signed a birdie on the 2nd but bogeyed the 4th and 8th holes, dropping to three strokes behind Couvra. However, an electrifying comeback on the back nine saw the 33-year-old move back into contention.
Saddier birdied the 10th and 11th, closing the gap to just one shot. But he wasn’t just done yet. On the 13th hole, he putted for birdie, but the ball stopped at the lip for a few seconds before dropping in.
Another birdie on the 14th saw Saddier hold the lead before moving ahead by three shots after Couvra bogeyed the 16th while he scored a birdie.
Saddier then parred his way to victory, finishing the round at 4-under and overall at 14-under. Couvra’s birdie on the 18th reduced the gap to two strokes and he ultimately signed for a 1-under final round to finish at 12-under.
“The first nine was pretty tricky, the other guys started to make some mistakes, and I just started playing nicely on the back nine and kept the momentum going until the end. It was my day,” Saddier said.
Saddier and Couvra’s performance earned them places at the 153rd Open Championship. “It’s a dream to play The Open. It will be nice to play at Royal Portrush, I think it’s one of the best venues for The Open. It’s really a dream for me to play this one,” said Couvra.
Couvra also won the Memorial Franco Chimenti award for being the best-performing golfer born after January 1, 2000. He said, “I’m really proud to be the first player to receive this. It’s such a good prize and such a good event, I’m so proud.”
Saddier, whose last win at the 2016 Challenge de España, was excited to win on the DP World Tour. He said, “It was a wait. It was a long time to finally have the trophy in my hands, but sometimes you have to work hard and go through dark moments. You have to appreciate the journey and I’m really happy today.”
Tied third was Englishman Dan Bradbury and the Joburg Open’s winner, Calum Hill, at 10-under for the tournament.
The DP World Tour heads to Munich, Germany, next for the BMW International Open.