Del Rey wins Ras Al Khaimah Championship by 4 shots for first European tour title

RAS AL KHAIMAH, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Spanish golfer Alejandro del Rey claimed his first European tour title in impressive fashion by shooting a third straight 6-under 66 to win the Ras Al Khaimah Championship by four strokes on Sunday.

Del Rey, ranked No. 308, finished the week on 22-under par to take victory on his 70th start on the tour.

After holing a putt on No. 18 for a fifth straight par to close his final round, Del Rey was covered in water after several of his countrymen ran onto the green.

His last top-10 finish was in March last year at the Singapore Classic, where he was tied for seventh.

“I got to a point last year where I just felt like I wasn’t having that much fun on the golf course because for me, playing for 20th, 30th place wasn’t that meaningful at that point,” Del Rey said.

“I just worked really hard since then because I just didn’t want to be in that position much longer. And I feel like I’ve played many years with a lot of friends that have won out here and I knew I could do it but it just wasn’t showing up.”

Del Rey was bogey-free over the weekend at Al Hamra Golf Club.

He started the final round with a two-shot lead, stretched it to five shots with birdies at Nos. 1, 2 and 5, and was even six clear after three straight birdies from No. 11. He then parred his way home to easily hold off second-place Marcus Armitage, the leader after the first two rounds.

Armitage of England (68) was 18 under for the week and David Puig (65) of Spain was third on 15 under.

“I’m just grateful and I’m very happy that this finally came,” Del Rey said. “I’ve always felt about myself that I’m a great closer of golf tournaments. It just felt great today, felt very natural and very easy.”

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