Joost Luiten produced the lowest final round by a winner in Challenge Tour history, a breathtaking 11 under par 61, to win the Vodafone Challenge and move to within a whisker of Challenge Tour Number One Edoardo Molinari at the top of the Rankings.
The Flying Dutchman was unstoppable at the Golf and Country Club An der Elfrather Muhle in Dusseldorf as he tore through the final round field with that stunning final round effort that took him to 18 under par 270 and left his closest challengers trailing in the wake of an astonishing display.
The fact that third round leader Magnus A Carlsson of Sweden posted a final round 66 to finish two strokes behind Luiten at the end of the tournament speaks volumes for the magnitude of the Dutman’s achievement.
Carlsson took second place on 16 under, with England’s Adma Gee in third place on 15 under after a closing 67.
Luiten, 21, turned professional at the end of last season and has taken the Challenge Tour in his stride with two victories in his first year on Tour.
He began the final round of the Vodafone Challenge in seventh place, three strokes behind Carlsson, but was soon making inroads in the Swede’s lead with birdies at the first and fourth holes.
“After birdieing fourth I knew that I could have a big day,” said Luiten. “I just felt like I was going to have a chance to birdie every hole – I was playing with so much confidence and hitting everything so close that I knew that I had a chance to win.”
Luiten then picked up strokes at he sixth and ninth to haul himself closer to Carlsson before annihilating the first five holes of the back nine, which he covered in six under par, to surge into a lead that must have left his nearest challengers despondent and disheartened to say the least.
“The run I went on at the start of the back nine was the best I have ever played – it couldn’t have been any better,” continued Luiten, who is now just €860 behind Molinari at the top of the Rankings.
“In fact, the whole round was the best that I have ever played. I knew every shot was going too go close and my putting was the same. I just felt that I couldn’t make any mistakes.
Luiten’s maiden professional win at the A.G.F Allianz Golf Open de Toulouse was won in similar circumstances, with a storming final round finish that saw him come through the field to take the title.
“Maybe I just love playing well on Sundays!” he laughed. “I do like it when you have to go for it on the last round. You just try and keep yourself in contention going into the final round, and if you can do that then you can go for everything.
“I did that in Toulouse and it worked out for me there as well. Sometime you can do that and it doesn’t go your way and you end up finishing 20th, but I have done it twice now and it is a great feeling.”
