Denizkent, Turkey - Straightforward victory for Michael Hirmer! The German pulls away from the competition at the Golf Mad Open 2024 on the challenging course at Lykia Links Golf Club and cel-ebrates a commanding start-to-finish triumph. His lead over Belgian Yente van Doren was five strokes at the end. In sunny and calm conditions on the Turkish Riviera, the 26-year-old from the Golf Club am Reichswald near Nuremberg posted rounds of 65, 70 and 71 strokes and secured his fourth title on the Pro Golf Tour.

The 2015 German champion led the tournament from the start after a convincing open-ing round and entered the third and final round with a three-shot lead. Although his final round began with a bogey on the first hole, an eagle on the following par 5 lowered his pulse and widened the gap to his rivals. It was a curious story: "I miscalculated my sec-ond shot into the green by 18 metres," revealed the Schwandorf native, who was sur-prised to find his ball in the semi-rough 25 metres from the flag. However, the subse-quent chip landed in the hole. "That was my kick-start to the round."

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Hirmer remained stable over the rest of the round and recorded a par round in the final, which was enough for an unchallenged victory. "This title feels great," said the delighted recipient of the €5,000 prize money. "It's not easy to start a final with a certain lead. The trick is to stay in the moment. I managed that very well at times today." The high-precision iron play in particular stood out from an otherwise consistently solid overall performance.

Hirmer had already made the leap from the Pro Golf Tour to the Challenge Tour in 2022, but unfortunately missed out on staying in the class. His goal is to get back on the tour immediately. By making the cut at the BMW International Open in Munich-Eichenried (DP World Tour) last summer, he managed to show his great potential on the big stage. More such appearances are to follow. "I struggled at times last year," says Hirmer about his time on the Challenge Tour. "But it was a very valuable experience from which I learnt a lot."

Arthur Michaux (France), Allen John (Germany) and Fiorino Clerici finished in a tie for third. The Swiss Clerici, who won the first tournament of the new season at the Red Sea Ain Sokhna Open 2024, takes the lead in the Order of Merit with this top result.

The impressive and well-maintained links course at the Lykia Links Golf Club near the popular holiday region of Belek presented the strong field with major challenges. Only five players managed to stay under par over the three days of the tournament. The cut was six over par after two rounds.

After just one day's break, the players will continue on site. The Golf Mad Championship 2024 kicks off Saturday (24 February 2024).