Renato Paratore achieved a double victory, winning the Hainan Open with a 271 (69, 70, 66, 66, -17) after a strong performance. His third HotelPlanner Tour title of the season earned him an immediate promotion to the DP World Tour.
Paratore, results
On the par-72 Sanya Luhuitou GC course in Sanya, Hainan Island, China, the 28-year-old Roman beat Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner (271-71, 67, 67, 66), with a par on the first play-off hole, with whom he had tied in the tournament.
Both tied for third place after three rounds, they quickly took the lead and then remained virtually level until the 17th hole, when Paratore bogeyed, but with a birdie on the final hole, he caught up with the Austrian, forcing him into a playoff. The decision, with the Italian making a par and his opponent making a double bogey, marked Italy's second victory in two days, following Jacopo Vecchi Fossa's victory in the Parma Alps Open (Alps Tour).
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Paratore's "card" is a win, but Stefano Mazzoli and Filippo Celli are also in the running to claim one of the 20 that will be awarded at the end of the year to the best players on the Road to Mallorca (order of merit). Mazzoli, with a strong performance, finished eighth with a 276 (67 69 69 71, -12), moving up from 19th to 16th place. Celli, in 39th place with a 282 (71 72 71 68, -6), dropped from fourth to sixth place, but with two tournaments left in the season, he is no longer in danger of missing his goal. The winner, who received a check for 69,140 out of a prize pool of approximately 430,000 (officially $500,000), moved from sixth to third in the rankings, but that's just statistics now.
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In Sanya, Frenchman Felix Mory finished third with a 273 (-15), followed by Germany's Jan Schneider, Spain's Sebastian Garcia, and China's Zhengkai Bai, fourth with a 274 (-14), and Sweden's Tobias Jonsson, seventh with a 275 (-13).
"I'm delighted with my third win of the year. The decisive putt on the 18th hole gave me the playoff. It's one of the best days of my career, and I thank everyone who has always supported me," said the Roman, who had previously won the UAE Challenge and Abu Dhabi Challenge in April. These victories have been added to the two on the main circuit (Nordea Masters 2017, Betfred British Masters, 2019). A professional since 2014, he had an excellent amateur career in which, among other things, he won the individual Olympic gold and the team bronze (with Virginia Elena Carta) at the Youth Games in China (2014), the European Boys title with the Italian team (2014) and the Junior Orange Bowl title (2013).
