Golf: Victor Perez wins the Abu Dhabi tournament, a first for a Frenchman

Europe 1 with AFP 6:56 p.m., January 22, 2023

This is the first victory for a French golfer in the Rolex Series, the elite tournament on the European circuit.

Full of control, Victor Perez won the Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday.

The gofeur returned for his last day a card of 66, at 6 under par, for a total of 270 (-18).

At 30, the golfer signs his third victory on the European circuit in 91 tournaments, after the Dunhill Links in 2019 and the Dutch Open last June.

Current 111th in the world, thanks to this success, he takes the lead in the European Tour standings with 1335 points.

He should return to around 60th place in the world rankings, almost within putt range of the Top 50, which guarantees participation in the Masters in March.

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"It was fantastic"

Off to a good start on Sunday, with six birdies on the first 11 holes, he managed an anthology 17th hole (par 3): silted up, he managed an exit from the bunker with a retro effect which gave him a decisive birdie (-19) .

Author of a bogey on the 18th hole (par 5), Perez saw his opponents return to his contact, but none could equalize at 66. The Swede Sebastian Soderberg takes second place after returning a card of 67 on Sunday , and the Australian Min Woo Lee the third (68).

"It was fantastic, I think you always have to have a little luck, and there are always decisive blows in the game on which everything is decided," said Victor Perez, very moved after his victory. .

"My exit from the bunker on the 17th hole will undoubtedly remain as a highlight".

"I just tried to get the ball back to the hole knowing that if it was a bit heavy, it was probably going to come back down to the hole," he explained.

"In my head, I thought that in the best case I was going to end up with a lead or a draw (with Soderberg), but I ended up with a two-step lead, which is huge."