Wilco Nienaber made three bogeys in his final four holes on Sunday to lose out on what could have been his second Challenge Tour title in the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi.
After a bogey-free opening round, Nienaber made three bogeys in his second round and four in each of his third and fourth rounds as he saw a solid lead evaporate down the stretch. In the end, his closing one-under-par 71 saw him finish second to Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark, who closed with a five-under 67 to finish one stroke clear of Nienaber on 14-under for the tournament.
Nienaber’s first Challenge Tour title came in 2021 in the Dimension Data Pro-Am, and a lack of consistency has plagued his play since. When he eagled the 11th in the final round at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, and then birdied the 13th to move to 16-under, he should have done enough to win.
But, in a depressing finish, he dropped shots on 15 and 16, and then again on the par-four 18th, where a par would have been enough to at least get him into a play-off with Neergaard-Petersen.
