Nicolai von Dellingshausen was delighted to achieve his goal of storming up the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex after a closing birdie saw him finish in a tie for second at the 2022 Mallorca Golf Open.
The German started the week 121st in the standings and, with tournaments running out, set himself the target of securing his playing rights for next season.
Having produced rounds of 71, 66 and 64 across the opening three days, Von Dellingshausen came into the final round in a strong position.
And after a front-nine 36 which contained two bogeys and a single birdie, he birdied the 11th, 15th and 18th to finish the tournament on 14 under par.
His closing 69 had looked like it might get him into a play-off following late twists and turns at Son Muntaner Golf Club, but with his countryman Yannik Paul birdieing the last to win by one, Von Dellingshausen finished alongside Paul Waring in joint-second.
But Von Dellingshausen was more interested in his move up the Rankings than anything else.
He said: "Honestly I’m lost for words right now. It’s been an up and down season for me, but I knew I was going in the right direction and working on the right things.
"In this sport results don’t always show up when you want them so I had to keep my patience high.
"It paid off now, I think I’ve secured my card with this for sure. That was my main goal going into this week and now I’ve achieved it so I’m super happy.
“I did a very good job the first three days just playing shot for shot, not looking at scores too much.
"Of course I’m aware of the position I’m in and the situation I’m in on the Rankings, but I’m super proud of how I dealt with those things. It was a lot harder for me not to look at the leaderboards today so I was super aware of everything.
“I didn’t know that putt was to tie the lead because the last time I had checked it was 15 under, I didn’t know it was potentially for a play-off, I just knew it was to secure my card so I’m happy for that.”
