Dubai-based Adrian Otaegui sets sights on Ryder Cup debut after Belgian Knockout success

Sport360 staff 11:45 21/05/2018
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  • Dubai-based Adrian Otaegui has his sights set on a Ryder Cup debut after claiming his second European Tour title with victory over France’s Benjamin Hebert in the final of the inaugural Belgian Knockout in Antwerp.

    The Spaniard, who won the Paul Lawrie Match Play event last year, birdied four of the last six holes to beat Hebert by two shots at Rinkven International Golf Club.

    The 25-year-old picked up 195,830 Race to Dubai points for his victory and moves from 20th to 14th in the Race to Dubai Rankings on 715,505 points leaving him on the cusp of qualification for the DP World Tour Championship taking place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 15-18.

    “I’m very happy, very relaxed now after those last nine holes against Ben that were very tight,” Otaegui said. “I think we both played very good golf and I’m just very proud about my week.

    “It’s not exactly the same format as last year [Paul Lawrie’s event] so I just tried to play against myself. Obviously your opponent is just next to you but I tried to focus on my game, it’s still stroke play and I did very well at the end.”

    Asked about his chances of qualifying for the European Ryder Cup team, which will be captained by Thomas Bjorn in Paris, Otaegui said: “Thomas, if you’re looking at me, I like match play!

    “There’s still a lot of season to go, obviously the good events coming now with the Rolex Series and lots of points. The season is still very long but yeah, I’m looking for Ryder Cup in a few months.”

    Masters champion Patrick Reed of America currently leads the Race to Dubai rankings with 2,216,000 points whilst Shubhankar Sharma of India sits in second on 1,079,898 points.

    Defending Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood completes the top three on 1,023,670 points.

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