Casablanca / Morocco – He had finished the Pro Golf Tour 2018 season in 5th place and was therefore promoted to the European Challenge Tour 2019. Mateusz Gradecki then impressively emphasised at the Open Prestigia that he is well prepared for this: with a total of 14 under par, the Pole dominated the third tournament of the Pro Golf Tour 2019, which he used for his pre-season preparation. “This win is incredibly important to me, because it shows that I worked well in the winter,” said Gradecki. Together with his coach Mike Bender, he had trained in Florida, played in Spain too and improved his short iron shots. He placed them with impressive precision in Casablanca resulting in many opportunities for a birdie.

In round 1, which he played on the Casa Green course – the tournament was held on two courses to accommodate a total of over 180 participants – he had to accept just two bogeys with five birdies. In rounds 2 and 3, he then remained faultless, recorded eleven birdies on the Prestigia Tony Jacklin course, thus wrapping up his first tournament success this year. “I knew the conditions here on the Pro Golf Tour would be excellent, which is why I'm preparing for the Challenge Tour season in Egypt and Morocco. Of course, being able to step up and even win the tournament gives me great self-confidence,” said the Prestigia champion from Polish Oborniki Ślᶏskie, a town with 10,000 inhabitants north of Wrocław. He finished the Pro Golf Tour seasons 1 and 2 in Egypt in 60th and 3rd place, respectively.

In addition to the winner's check of EUR 5,000, Gradecki receives just as many points for the Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit, which means he is now in second place in the ranking with a total of 6,617 points. Still in the lead with 8,000 points: Hinrich Arkenau from Lohne, who had taken the 1st and 2nd place in Egypt, but sat out the Open Prestigia due to injury. The next stop for the Pro Golf Tour’s Morocco swing is the Open Casa Green Golf, which will take place on the Casa Green and Palmeraie courses in Casablanca and will start on 7 February – with Arkenau probably playing again. There will be 180 players at the start here too.