With a fine 4th place in the 2022 European Tour resumption tournament, the Frenchman signs an unexpected performance of which he has the secret.
Victorious this Sunday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Thomas Pieters signs a first success in a Rolex Series. Already a five-time winner on the European Tour, the Belgian (29) confirms that he is setting off again for the 2022 season on the DP World Tour as conquering as he finished the previous season with success last November. in Portugal in Vilamoura.
On a day when the course dried up but the conditions remained difficult, Pieters posted a 72 card, with an overall score of -10 under par. He was one step ahead of Spaniard Rafael Cabrera Bello and Indian Shubhankar Sharma. Scotsman Scott Jamieson, leader since the first round, collapsed by returning a card of 77, which places him in 10th place. Pieters, who will turn 30 in four days, should move from 69th place in the world rankings to 31st thanks to his sixth victory on the European circuit (DP World Tour).
Good news
On the French side, the good news came thanks to Victor Dubuisson, whom we did not necessarily expect. Pointing in 11th position six shots from the lead before the last round, the Azurean came away strong with a birdie from hole n°1. Despite a hesitant putter, which sent the ball veering off the edge of the holes too often without success, a final birdie on the 18th (par 5) allowed him to grab a fine 4th place finish on the leaderboard (-8 on the total) four shots behind the leader.
When speaking in front of the Golf+ cameras, the Frenchman seemed satisfied with himself: ” It really wasn’t easy with the wind, he confided in front of the camera of Golf+. The flags were very complicated with very few birdie opportunities. I played as I have done since the beginning of the week, that is to say in a very calm way, middle of the green. I took both putts when needed. I was not too aggressive on flag attacks. I think I played very smart. I was lucky enough to make two good putts which, when you’re at the top of the board, make the difference. »
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A positive attitude, which could announce great things in the coming weeks. Even if Victor Dubuisson is not the type to draw plans on the comet. The day before, when asked by our colleague Nicolas Fabre (Golf+) about his ambitions for 2022, the Cannes native (322nd in the world at the start of the week), had remained evasive: “Honestly, it’s very hard to say. We had two complicated years, I myself had a blank year with a recovery that was not easy. Well, here it is… It was still a bit of scrounging, last year. I didn’t play all the tournaments I wanted. I was not present at the Rolex Series and we know that now you have to get results in the good tournaments because you can’t scratch enough in the small tournaments if you want to have a big season. Suddenly, perhaps we put more pressure on ourselves unconsciously… This year, it will be blow by blow, without pressure. When there is a bad bogey, I want to go to the next hole, without thinking about the score…»
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Among the other French, Victor Pérez, who had a good start to the tournament, sank during the last round (+6), finishing in 58th position (+3 in total). Julien Brun, also in the game after two laps, had stalled during the “moving day” (77) to finally post a conclusive 70 on Sunday and finish 25th (-3). In the end, it was Romain Langasque (-5) who won a good 12th place with a cautious last 71.
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship standings after round 4 (par 72):
1. Thomas Pieters (BEL) -10 (65-74-67-72)
2. Rafael Cabrera Bello (ESP) -9 (69-71-69-70)
, Shubhankar Sharma (IND) -9 (70-71-67-71)
4. Victor Dubuisson (FRA) -8 (70-72-69-69)
. Viktor Hovland (NOR) -8 (64-74-70-72) … etc.
” READ ALSO – The complete leaderboard with Le Figaro Golf
