Antalya, Turkey – A stormy start with a spectacular finish: Michael Hirmer initially struggled with the challenging conditions at the fantastic Lykia Links Golf Club at the Golf Mad Open 2025, but secured his first title of the new season on the Pro Golf Tour with strong performances in rounds two and three. The German had already proven his mastery of the par-71 links course in Antalya last year as the winner. Hirmer was the defending champion at the Golf Mad Open and was able to repeat his success thanks to an outstanding final spurt. The 27-year-old from GC Reichswald recorded three birdies on the last eight holes as well as an eagle on hole 16. Hirmer holed his second shot on the par 4 with an 8 iron. ‘That obviously helped,’ the winner revealed after his 67 (-4) in the final.

In the meantime, Philipp Macionga was another German in the lead. Although the 19-year-old top talent was unable to keep up with his more experienced compatriot on the back nine, he was delighted to finish second and achieve his best result on the Pro Golf Tour to date.

‘Simply completely overwhelmed’

After the first nine holes of round one, Hirmer was not expected to play for the title again. On a ‘brutal’ day with gale-force winds, he was six over par after ten holes played. ‘I've never experienced anything like it,’ said Hirmer about his opening round, which had to be interrupted for several hours at some point. He ultimately laid the foundation for his success on the back nine of the first round, when he saved himself with pars over the course. ‘When you haven't played tournament golf for a long time, you are simply completely overwhelmed in conditions like these. It was incredibly difficult, but I'm very proud of my second nine in the first round because it could have gone a lot worse.’

With better conditions for rounds two and three, Hirmer slowly climbed up the leaderboard. He even managed to avoid bogeys in the second round and put himself in a promising position for the final with a 68 (-3). ‘The second round went perfectly: I hit every green and holed a few putts. That was very solid, nothing went wrong.’ The final round then turned out to be an up and down affair up to hole 10. But Hirmer stayed completely focused and didn't even look at the leaderboard. ‘I tried to play my way through. But after the eagle, I already had a good feeling that I was in front.’

Leaderboard: All results at a glance
Order of Merit of the 2025 Season

It is no coincidence that Hirmer feels at home on the links course in Belek. He went to school in Scotland and therefore grew up on windy coastal courses. ‘The course is difficult and demands a lot from you. Especially in the long game. That's my strength, so I always play very well here.’ He described the condition of the Lykia Links as ‘super’. The greens in particular were ‘top’ again. The excellent conditions were complemented by a title sponsor, ‘Golf Mad Travel and Events’, who once again ensured that the tournament ran smoothly and made the Golf Mad Open an ideal start to the season.

However, Hirmer will not be celebrating his fifth title on the Pro Golf Tour for long. The next event on the challenging course is already scheduled for Wednesday 26 February with the Lykia Links Open. ‘As stupid as it sounds: I'm trying to tick off the win as quickly as possible. I won't have a head start tomorrow and it's back to square one.’