Despite opening his round with a pair of bogeys, Venezuela native Daniele Cabriles stood on the 18th tee at Muirfield Village needing a birdie to win Round 5 of the NEXT Golf Tour Powered by Trackman.
When his drive sailed into the trees and bounced hard right off the cart path, the chances looked slim. But there was a window — and Cabriles found it, arcing a high draw around the trouble and landing safely in the center of the green. From there he rolled a 7.2-meter (23.6-foot), downhill, left-breaking putt that found the bottom of the cup and made Cabriles (-6) the first Latino champion on the NEXT. The Madrid resident and commentator for Golf Channel Latin America won $30,000.
“I started bogey-bogey, but I said don’t worry, I know I can do it,” Cabriles said. “It’s weird, but those bogeys pushed me to the end.
“When I had that putt [for birdie], I felt so calm at address. I just made the stroke and it went in.”
Heading into the weekend, American Jordan Weber was in position to become the first repeat champion in NEXT history. He also finished at -6 and for a few days held the lead over Season 1/Round 5 winner Sigurdur Gardarsson of Iceland. But after Cabriles’ Sunday charge, Weber and Gardarsson dropped to T–2 and earned $14,301 each.
“I really didn’t think six-under would hold up, but when we got to Saturday night, I thought maybe it could happen again,” Weber said. “Then Daniele came in with a great round and a great last putt. It was cool to see his reaction and how excited he was. Super happy for him.”
Round 5 of the mixed-field NEXT Golf Tour included 553 players from 33 countries. The total purse of $155,300 included $20,000 in prizes for in-round side games and top video posts from players on Instagram.
Following the close of the 10-day playing window at midnight in Europe on Sunday, Feb. 11, the NEXT Golf Tour reviewed player video and Trackman data to validate scores before releasing the final results.
- Watch shot-by-shot replays of every player’s Round 5 performance at Muirfield Villageon the live leaderboard.
Finnish amateur Elias Haavisto, who is playing the NEXT Golf Tour to keep his game sharp while he fulfills his military service obligations, took the early lead at -5. He was later joined by Iceland’s Gudmundur Kristjansson, who struggled with five bogeys in his first 10 holes but also made two eagles and shot a back-nine 30. Canadian Chris McClure, who won the closest-to-the-pin side game handily, also shot -5 to finish T–4. The trio earned $7,651 each, but Haavisto will receive only $1,000 due to his amateur status.
The NEXT Golf Tour announced during the round that amateur winnings in excess of $1,000 — the maximum amount a player can accept while maintaining their amateur status — will be donated to UNICEF via Golfers for Ukraine, a charitable giving initiative spearheaded by Trackman in 2022. The total amount donated through five rounds of the seven-event series climbed to $36,415.
The group of three at -4 (T–7, $3,323 each) included DP World Tour veteran Wil Besseling of Netherlands, who fell out of contention after bogeys on 16 and 18. He was joined by American Shawn Tipton, who broke through after a pair of break-even NEXT starts, and Finland’s Kim Koivu, who made a late run with birdies on four of his last five holes.
Twelve players finished -3 (T–10, $861 each), led by American Vince India, who went five-under on his last six holes, sparked by a hole-out from 122 yards (112 meters) for eagle on No. 13. The group also included PGA Tour of Australasia pro Michael Sim and NEXT R2 winner Christian Jacobsen of Denmark.
The group of 19 players at -2 (T–22, $330 each) included the top female finisher, LET pro Patricia-Isabel Schmidt.
With one round to play before the Season Finale, the race for the top spot on the Order of Merit is heating up. Round 2 champ Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen, who won $50,000 in the first elevated event of the season, holds a sizeable lead, but he’s far from safe with another $50,000 winner’s check on the line in Round 6. Weber is currently second after earning more than $44,000 the past two rounds.
The top male performer on the NEXT Golf Tour Season 2 will receive exemptions to three Challenge Tour events and one DP World Tour event during the 2024 season. The top female performer receives the ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour Wildcard, which includes tour membership and free entry to three ANNIKA WAPT events during the 2024 season.
Round 6 of the NEXT Golf Tour will be played at the Innisbrook Copperhead course in Trackman simulators worldwide beginning Friday, Feb. 16. This is the second and final elevated event of Season 2 — and the last chance to qualify for the top 100 and a spot in the Season Finale — featuring an extra $50,000 added to the purse. Sign-up for Round 6 closes at 23:59 CET (5:59 p.m. ET in the U.S.) on Thursday, Feb. 15. The entry fee is $130, with $100 added directly to the purse. Join today at NEXTGolfTour.com.
Side games winners
Closest-to-the-Pin (Aggregate): Chris McClure, Canada (57’ 8”) — $3,000
Longest Drive (Men): Matthew Anderson, Canada (345.1 yards) — $2,000
Longest Drive (Women): Ragga Kristinsdottir, Iceland (264.6 yards) — $2,000
Birdie Streak: (tie) Bjørn Søborg, Denmark and Anton Carlström, Sweden (4) — $750 each
The full Round 5 results — including all side games winners, individual payouts and updated Order of Merit rankings — can be found at NEXTGolfTour.com. Follow the action all season long on Instagram and Facebook: @NEXTGolfTour and #NEXTGolfTour. Tune in to the NEXT Golf Show on YouTube on Wednesdays after each round, or follow on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.
