Meditation helps Saddier finish strong in Oman

Adrien Saddier believes meditation helped him fight back from a nightmare start as he finished just one shot out of a play-off at the 2020 Oman Open.

The Frenchman entered the final day just two shots off the lead but after a bogey-bogey start, it looked like he would be battling for a fourth European Tour top ten rather than the trophy at Al Mouj Golf.

But as nobody broke clear on a tough and windy day on the coast, Saddier fought back, with birdies on the fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, 15th and 16th catapulting him to the top of leaderboard.

A bogey on the next saw him set the clubhouse target at 12 under with a 69 but that blemish would prove costly as Brandon Stone and Sami Valimaki both birdied the last to edge ahead of him.

Saddier's Qualifying School exemption category meant he had not played on the European Tour since the start of January but he has been working hard and was delighted to see his work pay off in Muscat.

“It was tough out there today and starting bogey bogey didn’t help," he said. "The wind was really blowing really hard towards the end of the day. I made some nice birdies but unfortunately fell just one short. Overall a great week, though. 

"I started to meditate a few months ago and that helped me come back to the present after the bogey bogey start. There was still 16 holes to play so I just needed to play my game and not rush anything. 

"The par saves are just as important as the birdies on a course like this. I checked the scoreboard on the ninth and saw that nobody had gone really low so I just tried to stick to the plan and hit it as close as possible to give myself opportunities. 

"I’ve had a long break because of my status on the European Tour so I missed out on the Desert Swing. I’ve been working really hard on my game and my physical wellbeing and was really ready to play in Oman this week.”