Guido Migliozzi Wins Open de France
Guido Migliozzi made the only birdie of the day at the 18th hole to get to 17-under at the French Open, and when Rasmus Hojgaard was unable to match the feat, Migliozzi was the new champion by one stroke.
Migliozzi shot a nine-birdie, 9-under par 62 in the final round to claim his third victory on the DP World Tour, and his first since 2019, which was also the last time this tournament was held, having been cancelled twice due to the COVID pandemic.
His birdie at the 471-yard par-4 18th required a brilliant approach shot into a treacherous pin tucked deep into a peninsula of putting surface surrounded by water. The 200-yard, five-iron fade was no more than five feet from the hole when it completed its journey. Upon holing the putt, Migliozzi was the clubhouse leader, but had to wait out the 21-year-old Hojgaard, who was at 16-under with two holes yet to play.
A shot worthy of winning any tournament 🤯
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 26, 2022
World class @guidomigliozzi 👏#CazooOpenDeFrance pic.twitter.com/960tJLHaez
Hojgaard led the tournament after each of the prior three rounds, firing a spectacular 62 of his own on Thusday, followed by a 65 in the second round to give himself a six-stroke lead heading into the weekend.
But he came back to the field on Saturday, largely thanks to a quintuple-bogey on the par-3 2nd hole, in which he hit three balls into the water and needed to make a nearly 15-foot putt just to salvage his 8. After the third round 74, Hojgaard led by just one stroke over George Coetzee entering the final round.
But it was the 25-year-old Italian who overcame the deficit. Migliozzi trailed by 13 strokes after two rounds, and by five entering Sunday, but by the 11th tee, having just birdied the prior five consecutive holes, Magliozzi was only one stroke out of the lead. After a two-hole par streak, Magliozzi birdied four of the final six, and the trophy and French Open championship was his.
Last week’s Italian Open winner Robert MacIntyre finished in a tie for eight place at 8-under par.
The victory moved Migliozzi up to 108th in the Official World Golf Rankings from 168th. Hojgaard moved from 159th to 130rd.
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