‘It feels unbelievable’: David Puig holds off local stars in dominant Australian PGA Championship triumph
Spain’s David Puig has taken out the Australian PGA Championship, holding off a handful of local stars to win the event at Royal Queensland.
The little-known 23-year-old finished two shots ahead of Ding Wenyi and three strokes clear of veteran Aussie star Marc Leishman after the final round on Sunday.
Min Woo Lee finished tied for fifth, four shots behind the winner Puig.
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The result marked just the third tournament win of Puig’s professional career.
Puig took the lead early in the round and never looked back, with a cracking birdie putt on the eighth hole saw Puig move to 17-under par.
He continued his dominance on the 13th hole, extending his lead to four shots before Wenyi made things a little interesting down the stretch with a strong finish.
Speaking after his final putt, Puig let the emotions of the biggest win of his career sink in as the fans celebrated with him in Brisbane.
“It feels amazing,” he said.
“I really had a lot of close calls in a few events this year and last year, but wasn’t able to pull it through. It feels unbelievable, especially winning here in Australia.
“I was pretty nervous to be fair, especially thinking about the past a little bit. I was definitely nervous, but I kept my composure really well.”
Leishman had a chance to narrow the margin on the 14th, but missed a crucial putt.
On the 17th – dubbed the ‘party hole’ with rowdy fans clamouring for their share of $1 million if someone nailed an ace – Lee had a chance for a birdie but had to settle for par.
Adam Scott was six strokes behind the winner along with a handful of others including Daniel Gale, who hit an incredible hole-in-one during the first round on Thursday.
Last year’s winner Elvis Smylie finished 9-under and well behind the leading pack.
