Chris Wood secured his first MENA Golf Tour title with a nerveless final round five-under-par 67 to claim a one-shot victory at the Rolear Algarve Classic, capping a dominant week at Amendoeira Golf Resort’s O’Connor Course with just a single dropped shot across 54 holes.
The 38-year-old Englishman, who began the final day with a one-shot lead, finished at 16-under-par to hold off Scotland’s Aidan O’Hagan, whose matching 67 saw him finish alone in second place at 15-under.
Germany’s Max Schmitt produced the round of the day with a course-record bogey-free nine-under 63 to surge into third place at 13-under-par.
Wood’s remarkable week saw him play 52 holes without a blemish before finally dropping his first and only shot at the 17th hole on Thursday, a statistic that underlined his control and consistency throughout the tournament.
“It was a great start. I hit a lovely pitch into the first to a foot, another good pitch for about eight feet on the second, held a nice putt from 20 feet on the third,” said Wood, who opened with three consecutive birdies. “I felt very in control today, so yeah, I’m really pleased.”
The three-time DP World Tour winner acknowledged O’Hagan’s challenge throughout the final round. “Fair play to him. He hit some great shots on the back nine. I missed a couple of greens, managed to get up and down two out of those three. He was there all day long, really.”
Despite the pressure of protecting his lead, Wood remained focused on his own process with caddie Chris Lloyd, his fellow Bristolian and former playing partner, on the bag. “I’m so into what I’m doing and me and Lloydy, what we’re doing out there. He could have shot 63, I could have shot 67, I’d have shaken his hand. I’d have been pleased with how I did today. It’s worked out that I’ve managed to come out on top.”
The victory caps a significant period in Wood’s resurgence after a difficult spell away from competitive golf. “I’m gutted that I bogeyed the 17th – that was my only bogey all week. But to finish my season with a win is amazing. I’ve got some work that I want to get into over the winter and have a little break but come out ready for the first couple in Egypt.”
O’Hagan mounted a spirited challenge on the final day. The 21-year-old Scot, who had shared the first-round lead with Wood, remained in contention throughout and gave himself every chance down the stretch, including a putt on the 18th that would have forced a play-off.
“I unfortunately hit one in the water on three and made double there, so a lot of it for me was just making sure that I was able to get it back to where I needed to be,” O’Hagan explained. “Slowly picked a few shots back up as we went and by the time we got to 18 I had a putt to tie it all up and it just slipped by unfortunately.”
Despite the disappointment, O’Hagan took significant positives from the experience of pushing a former Ryder Cup player all the way to the final hole. “I gained some belief today in my game. It’s been trending in the right direction and just being able to pull off the shots when I needed to, especially with how windy it was. Unfortunately, just a few putts slipped by, but it’s definitely a good stepping stone to kind of kick on after this.”
Schmitt’s spectacular final round provided one of the week’s standout performances as the German carded nine birdies without dropping a shot to rocket up the leaderboard and claim third place.
“I really played well the first two days as well, but the putter wasn’t working at all. I had three three-putts first round, one yesterday, so four three-putts in two rounds,” he explained. “Today I made the ones that I needed to, which was really crucial. I was playing a bit better today, hit it closer on most of the holes and then just executed the putts.”
Schmitt, who plays with remarkable pace, admitted he wasn’t even aware of the course record as he tore through the O’Connor Course. “To be fair, I wasn’t playing my best all year long, so I didn’t think about it at all. But it’s really nice to kind of finish maybe my season on a high.”
Three players shared fourth place at 10-under-par: Czech Republic’s Dominik Pavoucek (67), Scotland’s Sebastian Sandin (68) and Italy’s Marco Florioli (68).
Ireland’s Tyler Hogarty and Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo both posted impressive final rounds of 65 to finish in a share of seventh at eight-under, alongside English pair David Hague (68) and Toby Hunt (69), Portugal’s Pedro Lencart (71) and Ireland’s Max Kennedy (72).
The UAE’s Ahmad Skaik showed remarkable determination to play through the pain barrier and card an even-par 72 in the final round, finishing the tournament at four-over-par to collect prize money in just his second event as a professional.
“My body was feeling better today after the massage, and I was hitting the ball better, which meant I gave myself more chances for birdies,” said Skaik. “It feels good to get a paycheque for the first time and hopefully first of many. If you would tell me at the beginning of the week that I’m gonna make the cut and possibly shoot a low round in the third round, I would not have believed it because I was not moving well and I was in so much pain and couldn’t swing the club.”
Wood’s victory earns him $18,000 from the $100,000 prize fund and valuable Official World Golf Ranking points as the MENA Golf Tour’s relaunched season continues to gain momentum. The Tour now heads to Egypt for four events in January and February before moving to Morocco.
The second event of the season demonstrated the quality of field the relaunched Tour is attracting, with former DP World Tour winners, promising young talent, and ambitious professionals all competing for the substantial prize funds and crucial world ranking points on offer.
FINAL LEADERBOARD
- Chris Wood (ENG) -16 (65-68-67—200)
- Aidan O’Hagan (SCO) -15 (65-69-67—201)
- Max Schmitt (GER) -13 (71-69-63—203)
T4. Dominik Pavoucek (CZE) -10 (68-71-67—206) | Sebastian Sandin (SCO) -10 (71-67-68—206) | Marco Florioli (ITA) -10 (68-70-68—206)
