golfx3 was crowned the inaugural European eTour champion last night after a dramatic evening of play from the Global Finals, live streamed on the European Tour’s YouTube channel.
The 22-year-old from New Mexico, in the United States, claimed his fifth victory of the season and took home the US$30,000 first prize after defeating compatriot Shefuf in a final that showcased play of the highest quality.
However, it wasn’t plain sailing for Payton Gordley, better-known as golfx3, as he faced two-time eTour finalist, JSmithers in his first round, quarter final match. Gordley was eventually able to take the match on the final hole in what was a similar game to their match up in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship final early in the season.
golfx3 then faced fmagnets who is widely considered as the greatest player to ever play the World Golf Tour game. The 44-year-old, who now resides in Brazil hasn’t shown the form in eTour tournaments that you might expect from a player with his reputation, but after defeating Canadian, Walk0fLiFe in his first round match, the man from the UK was looking reassuringly confident.
The semi-final match-up was nip and tuck, with players exchanging birdies throughout the front nine. golfx3 headed to the 18th tee, at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links, 1Up. With both players finding the fairway with their tee shots, golfx3 proceeded to show why he has won four out of five tournaments in 2020. A 224-yard 3 iron, to 3 feet all but secured the match as fmagnets failed to better the contender for shot of tournament.
In the second semi-final, Shefuf, who had squandered a 2Up lead against Philippine player Boyet in the previous round, only to take the game with a birdie on the second extra hole, faced his fellow countryman and friend Young46. Young46 who had recently defeated golfx3 in the final of the Nedbank Golf Challenge tournament was widely tipped as the man to beat at the Global Finals.
After coming from behind in his first round match against Italian, Simovoice, Young46 again found himself down in the early stages and despite several birdies on the back nine, was unable to break the flow of Shefuf who this time held firm to take the match 2&1.
“Shef played stupendious… he will be tough to beat” said Young46 as he gracefully congratulated his opponent on the victory and showcased the camaraderie within the WGT community.
. @Paytonnnnnnnnn just won $30,000 besting @ShefUF in the Global Finals! Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/CNRUZZz8O3
— European eTour (@etour_gg) January 20, 2021
In the final, Shefuf took an early lead after continuing his fine play on another US Open venue, Erin Hills. The father of two from Florida hadn’t progressed past the group stages in either of his previous two eTour tournament appearances but looked destined to take the title with some incredible play over the opening holes. However, he was unable to extend his lead to more than 1Up and as with all great players, golfx3 was able to stay within touching distance and wait for an opportunity to strike.
After birdies at 12, 13, and 15, golfx3 found himself with a commanding two-hole lead on the 16th tee. Again, showcasing the quality of play, the players exchanged birdies on the 205-yard, par three and moved to the 17th, a long par four measuring at just over 520 yards.
Both players found the fairway from the tee, leaving long approaches to the green. Shefuf played first and hit a magnificent long iron inside ten feet to mount pressure on his opponent. golfx3 also found the putting surface but some 25 feet from the hole, which gave Shefuf a glimmer of hope. However, the glimmer quickly disappeared as golfx3 holed the putt to take the title and proved why he came into the tournament as the Power Ranking favourite.
Gordley had quit WGT to focus on his studies in 2019 but upon learning of the launch of the European eTour, a joint venture between TopGolf, Dreamhack Sports Games, and the European Tour, he started to play again. Since the decision to return, he has earned over US$50,000 playing the eTour and is now unequivocally the man to beat heading into the second season.
The European eTour will return in 2021 with the full schedule to be announced in February.
About the European eTour
The European eTour, golf’s first esports series, is played using the online and mobile golf game World Golf Tour (WGT) developed by Topgolf and comprised of six events in 2020. The series saw over 800,000 qualification entries as players competed for 100,000 USD over the season, including 50,000 at the Global Finals.
