Bryce Easton was unable to play his way to the HotelPlanner Tour’s Rolex Grand Final when he closed the Hangzhou Open at Hangzhou West Lake Golf Club in Hangzhou, China with a one-under-par 71 on Sunday.
With only the top 45 players making it through to the final, Easton went up one spot on the rankings to 57th as he finished the tournament in China on 10-under-par in a share of 19th. He mad an eagle, a birdie and two bogeys in a final round which could have done with some fireworks to see him get to Mallorca.
Sebastian Garcia of Spain sealed a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title after coming through a dramatic two-hole play-off. The Spaniard fired a five-under-par closing round of 67 to join Peruvian Julian Perico and Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner at 17-under-par for the week.
After Steinlechner was eliminated on the first extra hole, Garcia and Perico headed back to the 18th tee for a second time, and once the Peruvian ran into trouble, a stress-free par was enough for Garcia to secure victory.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “Five weeks ago, I was 35th in the rankings and my target over the last two weeks was to win, so this is a dream for me.”
Garcia started the second of back-to-back events in China 21st in the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings, with the top 20 set to secure automatic promotion to the DP World Tour following the Rolex Grand Final. Now up to seventh following his victory in Hangzhou, Garcia is on track to return to the DP World Tour.
At the top of the rankings, JC Ritchie stayed in first place, with his final round of four-under-par giving him a share fo 19th with Easton. With his three victories on the circuit, he’s already secured a return to the DP World Tour, but he will look to sign off his time back on the HotelPlanner Tour with a flourish at the top of the list after the Rolex Grand Final.
Wilco Nienaber dropped two places to 29th with his closing level-par 72 giving him a share of 26th, and he will want a strong finish to the season in Mallorca in two weeks’ time. He’s just inside the top 30 who get some status on the DP World Tour behind the top 20 who get promoted.
Jovan Rebula dropped three places to 22nd, so he, too, will want a good showing in Mallorca to see if he can secure automatic promotion.
