Quim Vidal secured his first HotelPlanner Tour title after defeating Joshua Berry in a dramatic play-off at the Delhi Challenge.
The Spaniard entered the final round with a three-shot advantage but signed for a one under par round of 71 to share the 72-hole lead with Englishman Berry on 18 under. Both players birdied the first two extra-holes before Vidal closed out victory with a brilliant birdie on the third play-off hole.
The 25-year-old eagled his 72nd hole to force a play-off at Classic Golf & Country Club and he was proud of the way he was able to recover from a slow start to his final round and pick up a maiden HotelPlanner Tour victory.
“I’m very happy and it feels great,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting this after a tough day, but I’m lost for words right now. The play-off was so tough, and I didn’t know how it was going to end.
“I knew I had to make an eagle to get in the play-off and I was so focussed on making that putt. It was probably the only long putt I made all day, and it was special.”
Vidal catapults to fifth place on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and is hoping this victory can be the springboard for promotion to the DP World Tour.
“I will try to keep this good form up for the rest of the season,” he said. “I’ve gained a lot of points this week which takes the pressure off slightly but I’m going to keep pushing to make sure I stay towards the top for the rest of the year, and we will see where I end up. My main goal is to finish inside the top 20 and earn promotion to the DP World Tour.”
Dutchman Lars van Meijel carded a final round 66 to finish third on 17 under par, while Austrian Maximillian Steinlechner and Italian Filippo Celli shared fourth position on 16 under.
American Davis Bryant, Julian Perico from Peru, Portuguese Pedro Figueiredo, Indian Arjun Prasad, and Victor Sidal Svendsen from Denmark shared sixth on 15 under par.
South African Daniel van Tonder remains in pole position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings on 742.4 points, while Berry is 180.5 points behind in second following his runner-up finish in Delhi. Englishman Jamie Rutherford occupies third position, while South African Wilco Nienaber and Vidal make up the top five.
The Road to Mallorca now takes a two-week break before heading to the UAE for the UAE Challenge at Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club from April 10-13.
