Trophee Hassan II

Trophee Hassan II

Trophee Hassan II
Rabat, Morocco
Winner: Jorge Campillo

“It’s been a while but it was worth the wait.” So said Jorge Campillo after claiming his maiden victory in his 229th event on the European Tour at the Trophee Hassan II. Campillo won by two shots on the Red course at Royal Dar Es Salam with birdies at the 16th and 17th holes to end a run of near-misses. Among 28 previous top-10 finishes, the 32-year-old Spaniard, who qualified from the Challenge Tour in 2011, had been second six times and third four times.

Two of those seconds and a third had come in his previous four starts. When he bogeyed the second and third holes of his final round, it might have been another occasion when it slipped away. However, as the leaders struggled, a birdie at the eighth and another, from eight feet, at the 11th put Campillo in a share of the lead. A fine second shot from rough to 10 feet at the 16th, the hardest hole on the closing stretch, put Campillo one ahead before he got up and down for a three at the short par-four 17th. A par at the last, after a lengthy wait on the tee, gave Campillo rounds of 72, 71, 69 and 71 for a nine-under-par total of 283 and a two-stroke win over van Rooyen, 74, Sean Crocker, 72, and Julian Suri, 71.

“It’s been a long road,” Campillo said. “I’m grateful, but it’s been way too long. Way too many hours of work since I was a boy to today. I just love the game, I love competing. I’m just proud that I can say I’m a winner on the European Tour.”