Jens Dantorp returned to the winner’s circle in style as a closing six under par round of 66 earned him the Challenge de España title at Iberostar Real Club de Golf Novo Sancti Petri.
The Swede went bogey-free over the weekend to reach ten under par and secure a three-stroke victory over Spaniard Victor Pastor, who finished second on seven under par. Dantorp’s countryman Mikael Lindberg finished third on five under par, with Switzerland’s Jeremy Freiburghaus a shot further back in fourth.
The 33-year-old’s last victory came at the Ras Al Khaimah, 2017 Golf Challenge and having lost his DP World Tour playing privileges in 2018, is pleased to be coming through a difficult period on the course.
“I can’t describe it, it’s been such a long time since I did this,” he said. “It’s been a struggle for a few years and I’m very, very pleased to be stood here with the win again.
“It’s been tough. From playing pretty well on the DP World Tour in 2018, after my third place at the Scottish Open I just lost it really. I’ve struggled a bit mentally and that feels a lot better now.
“I’ve been working hard on that and I’m very thankful for my team. What the team has done for me, my mental coach, my performance coach, my wife, my swing coach, they’ve all been so supportive and I couldn’t have done this without them.”
The 2013 Rolex Trophy winner did not drop a shot over the weekend, carding 11 birdies, and he admits to being the welcome recipient of some good luck.
“It was my day today, I can admit that,” he said. “I was lucky a few times and holed some crazy shots as well. I also played some solid stuff as well so I’m very happy.
“The chip-in was a big, big bonus. I was staring at double bogey in the eye and I was targeting a bogey. I hit a perfect shot and I thought it was going to get pretty close but it went in and I was so happy.”
Frenchman Edgar Catherine finished in a tie for fifth place alongside Spain’s Eduardo De La Riva on three under par, while English duo John Parry and Jonathan Thomson, Switzerland’s Benjamin Rusch and Spaniard Ivan Cantero Gutierrez shared seventh place on two under par.
With his victory, Dantorp moves to sixth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings with 43,664 points, while runner-up Pastor goes straight onto the Rankings in 12th place, which are still led by South African JC Ritchie after his pair of victories earlier in the year.
The Road to Mallorca now travels to Scotland for the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A at Newmachar Golf Club from May 26-29.
