Conor Purcell shot a closing seven-under 65 to come storming up the leaderboard on the fourth and final day of the DP World Tour’s Hainan Classic in China, earning a T22 finish for the Portmarnock man.
A week after recording a T15 at the Volvo China Open – his best finish of the 2025 season – Purcell found himself largely stuck in neutral in the first and third rounds, but ground out a two-under in round two to make the cut on the number.
Birdies on each of the opening two holes in round four was an ideal start, but he could only add one more before reaching the turn in 33. But after parring each of the opening two holes on the back, he birdied 12, 14, 16 and rounded it off with another on the last to shoot the joint lowest round of the day and jump 38 places on the leaderboard.
At the business end of affairs, Marco Penge was imperious as he stormed to a three-stroke victory to secure his maiden DP World Tour title.
The Englishman started the day in a share of the lead with home favourite Bowen Xiao but found himself one shot behind a charging Sean Crocker as he began the back nine on Sunday. However, he produced a grandstand finish to sign for a closing 67 and secure a three-stroke victory on 17-under, with the American and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan sharing second place.
The 2023 HotelPlanner Tour Number One started the final round slowly, bogeying the par five second hole and arrived on the sixth tee one over par for his round, however he clicked into gear with birdies at the sixth, seventh and ninth to move into the red and strengthen his position towards the top.
Crocker, meanwhile, was making a charge with two birdies and an eagle in a three-hole stretch from the tenth, while Penge gave a shot back at the par three 11th after starting the back nine with a birdie.
The 26-year-old then produced a timely hat-trick of birdies at the 12th, 13th and 14th to race clear of the chasing pack and wrap up victory on his 47th Tour start.
“This obviously means the world to me,” Penge said afterwards. “It’s something that I’ve always dreamt of achieving – winning on the biggest stage. After my time off it was the thing that I wanted to really prove to myself and prove to everyone, to show what a player I am.
“We spend a lot of time away from home. All of us lads are doing this for our wives, our families, our kids – to be able to say that I’ve won on the DP World Tour when my son’s a little older and kind of be a hero to him.
“Before this Swing started, I said to my caddie, I think it was in Singapore, I said my goal is to get in the US PGA Championship. That’s something that I’d love to do. Obviously coming here, I hadn’t had a top five or anything like that, so I’d kind of forgotten about it a little bit, but it popped in my head last night.
“I thought, well, if I win tomorrow, maybe I might get in the PGA and I’ve already qualified for The Open. To be able to play against the best players in the world and see where I’m at compared to them would just be an unbelievable experience and something I’m looking forward to.
“I’m the person driving the car, my family and my team are all the components of the car. Without them, I wouldn’t achieve what I’ve achieved today and my whole career, really. I talk to them on a daily basis and they keep me hungry. They keep me accountable and I couldn’t appreciate their support anymore.”
Crocker and Reitan shared second place on 14-under with Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen in fourth place on 13-under, while Frenchman Martin Couvra rounded out the top five a shot further back.
Penge’s victory is not only a milestone moment in his career, but it also earns him third place on the Asian Swing Rankings and with it, a spot in next month’s US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club.
Japan’s Keita Nakajima topped the Rankings after finishing in a tie for 11th at Mission Hills Resort Haikou, while Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra was second and Penge third, with all three players now heading to the second men’s Major Championship of the year next month.
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