Tom McKibbin earned his maiden DP World Tour victory at the Porsche European Open, while home favourites delighted and two players earned their spots in the U.S. Open. Here's everything you need to know.
McKibbin earns maiden victory
Tom McKibbin held his nerve over the closing stretch to edge out home favourites Max Kieffer and Marcel Siem and claim his first DP World Tour victory with a final round of 70 to finish on nine under par.
The Northern Irish rookie, who hails from the same town as Rory McIlroy, started the day in a six-way tie at the top and finished with a flourish, hitting an incredible five iron to the heart of the green on the 72nd hole and two-putting for birdie.
Having battled all day at the top with Kieffer, McKibbin regained the outright lead for the final time with a birdie at the 15th, and parred his next two holes before coming to the last and winning with his dad in the crowd.
He said: “It probably won’t sink in until tomorrow but to have my dad here, to win in front of him is pretty amazing.
“It was a great day, nice to go out and put a really, really nice round together.
“(I’ve learned) that I’m good enough to win. I always thought I was but to prove it today was pretty special.”
It was only McKibbin's 26th start on the DP World Tour after graduating from the 2022 European Challenge Tour and he joined Darren Clarke in 2001 as only the second Northern Irish winner of this event.
Victory lifts the 20-year-old from 92nd place to 23rd on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
Langasque and Forsström secure Major spots through U.S. Open Qualification Series
Romain Langasque and Simon Forsström topped the standings of the 2023 DP World Tour U.S. Open Qualification Series to secure their places in the field at The Los Angeles Country Club from June 15-18.
Langasque and Forsström finished as the top two aggregate points earners, with Adrian Meronk already exempt, from the four-event series consisting of the DS Automobiles Italian Open, Soudal Open, KLM Open and Porsche European Open.
Langasque consolidated his position at the top of the standings with a tie for 10th in Germany to earn his second U.S. Open appearance, three years after he finished in a tie for 34th during his debut in 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club.
Meanwhile, Forsström's tie for 33rd at Green Eagle Golf Course is enough to book his U.S. Open debut, adding another accolade to a year that includes victories at both DP World Tour Qualifying School and a maiden title at the Soudal Open in Belgium.
Home favourites put on a show
Marcel Siem and Max Kieffer ultimately came up a couple of shots shy of adding another German victory this season, but the duo hailed an 'amazing' occasion as they put themselves in with a chance of becoming the first to win on home soil in 15 years.
Kieffer was four under through 11 holes before his momentum derailed with two costly bogeys at 13 and 14. He managed to claw one stroke back at the 16th, but was unable to covert at the final hole and had to settle for a three-under-par 70, two shots behind McKibbin.
“I had an amazing front nine, or the first 12 holes were absolutely amazing,” said Kieffer. “Unfortunately on 13 I bogeyed, which can happen because it’s a very tough hole, and on 14 I three-putted. I left the first putt short, which was a bit stupid.
“But overall it’s been a great day, it’s been really emotional. Great support from the crowd, I had lots of goosebumps today, it was awesome.”
Hero Indian Open winner Siem echoed his compatriot's sentiments about the atmosphere, but also his own disappointments. After opening with a bogey Siem delighted crowds with a birdie at nine and a chip in at the 10th, but was also left to rue a back-nine mistake. His came at the 16th, and despite a final-hole birdie, it put him alongside Kieffer and two shots behind the eventual winner.
“It was amazing. It was great,” he said of the atmosphere. “I’m just sad that the thing on 16 was still in my head so I couldn’t enjoy it 100 per cent, unfortunately.
“But the people were amazing. I’ve never seen this in Germany before, or anywhere. The Open was great with spectators, but this was the best I’ve ever had.
Green Monster's new fourth proves worthy risk and reward
A new challenge presented itself to players the Porsche European Open as one of the hardest par fours on the DP World Tour was lengthened and transformed into a new par five.
Last year the fourth hole was not only the most difficult on the course, but ranked third in the hardest holes on the DP World Tour in 2022, playing an average of 0.53 strokes over par. Of the top ten and ties on the leaderboard at the end of the event, nobody managed to play the fourth under par.
The change was received well from players, and the hole itself became a much more tameable best.
Although it played very slightly over its new par at 5.01, it was only ranked as the 13th hardest hole this year, giving up five eagles, 139 birdies, 210 pars, 71 bogeys and 33 double bogeys or worse,
Birdies for Charity
Title sponsor Porsche donated 75 euro for every birdie made during the four tournament rounds at last week's European Open as part of the “Birdies for Charity” fundraiser, with all money raised going towards Ukraine aid projects.
There were a total of 1,354 birdies made over the four tournament days, making a total of €101,550.
In similar fashion to the already long-established Aces for Charity at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix or the Racing for Charity fundraiser marking the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a donation will be made to charitable organisations for every birdie made during the tournament in Hamburg.
Each donation of 75 euro - chosen for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the sports car manufacturer - will be split up equally between the “JOBLINGE Hamburg” and the “Hamburger Abendblatt hilft” initiatives.
