Renato Paratore impressed on the final day of the UAE Challenge to seal a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title at Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club.
The Italian fired a faultless seven under par round of 65 in Ajman to reach 22 under par for the week and win by two strokes from South African JC Ritchie.
Paratore entered the final round one shot back but quickly raced to the top of the leaderboard thanks to three birdies and an eagle in his first five holes.
The two-time DP World Tour winner added two further birdies on the back nine to pull away from the chasing pack, before parring his way home to make sure of the title.
“The feeling is great,” he said. “I just try to stay in the moment and stay in the hole every time I play because you can get distracted, but I stayed really focussed all week.
“I was five under but only leading by one shot after nine. JC played really well so congratulations to him, it was a good fight until the end.
“My putting has been brilliant this week. Of course, the game has been good, but the putter played a really important role.”
Paratore, whose last win came at the Betfred British Masters on the DP World Tour five years ago, catapults to seventh in the Road to Mallorca Rankings as he looks to secure a swift return to golf’s Global Tour.
The Italian is now looking ahead to next week and continuing his impressive form in the Abu Dhabi Challenge at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club – the second of back-to-back HotelPlanner Tour events in the UAE.
“I didn’t start the season well so today is a good push forward and I can’t wait to play next week,” he added.
“My last win was in 2020 so today was important for me.”
American Dan Erickson, who held the overnight lead going into the final day, finished in solo third on 17 under par, with Frenchman Oihan Guillamoundeguy and Spaniard Adri Arnaus one shot further back in fourth.
Ireland’s Mark Power, German Freddy Schott and Portuguese Pedro Figueiredo were one shot further back on 14 under par in a share of sixth.
It was also a good day for Max Kennedy who fired a final round of 67 to hit nine-under and a share of 26th place.
The top five places in the Road to Mallorca Rankings remain the same, with Daniel van Tonder retaining his place at the top of the season-long standings. Ritchie climbs 12 places to sixth, with Paratore up 67 spots to seventh. Erickson moves up 28 places to 12th with his third place finish at Al Zorah.
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