Cairo/Egypt – Mathieu Decottignies Lafon is actually already very familiar with the feeling of winning on the Pro Golf Tour, after all he had already won two tournaments each in 2015 and 2018; and yet this time everything was new: “I’ve never gone into a final round with such a big lead,” said the Frenchman, overjoyed, after advancing to the last round with a four-stroke cushion over the chasing pack and taking the mighty winner’s cup for the 2021 NewGiza Pyramids Challenge at the end of the day. “So far, I’ve either been ahead by a narrow lead or been behind before the final round when I’ve won tournaments. Playing out in front and even extending the lead in the last round gives me a lot of confidence. I’m really happy, this win is a very special moment!”

Decottignies Lafon laid the foundation for success on the new course on the outskirts of Cairo, within sight of the Giza pyramids, in the first round when he signed his scorecard with a brilliant round of 63 on the demanding par-72 course, making six birdies in addition to two eagles and holing just about everything on the fast and true greens that looked even remotely like a chance for a birdie. “I’ve been playing really good golf for a few weeks now,” said the Pyramids champion, “my irons are working well, and when the putter is on fire, things can get pretty deep.” He cemented his place at the top of the leaderboard with a solid round of 70 on the second day of the tournament, and then showed just how strong his game currently is on the last day of the event: with 66 strokes, he again recorded the best result of the entire field, just like on the first day, putted in for birdie an incredible ten times – making the four bogeys irrelevant.

Precision on a beautiful layout

“A really nice golf course, with a very good layout and fair greens – it’s lovely to have been able to play here,” the winner said. The title and the 5,000 Order of Merit points that go with it move him up to third place in the Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit; the new No. 1 in the season ranking is Switzerland’s Marco Iten, who scored in Cairo to finish 22nd on the leader board, pushing Poland’s Mateusz Gradecki into second place.

“I’m going to give it my all again next week,” Mathieu Decottignies Lafon announces that he also wants to play birdies in a row at the Dreamland Pyramids Classic, which starts on 1 June. And he’d love to be out in front again on the last day.