Winner Ben Parker: "I was fired up for playing! “
Open Royal Golf Anfa Mohammedia in Morocco
Englishman Ben Parker is the winner of the Open Royal Golf Anfa Mohammedia. With a round of 68 and two rounds of 66 strokes the 27-year-old dominated his competitors on the par 70 course of the Mohammedia Royal Golf Club. After 54 holes he triumphed with 10 under par and with a 5 stroke margin. Runner-ups are Frenchman David Antonelli (65, 73, 67) and Sam Echikson from Belgium (68, 70, 67) who both shared second place with -5. Fourth place with four under par (65, 69, 72) went to Swiss Benjamin Rusch, which yields him the first rank in the Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit. After nine out of 22 tournaments the 25-year-old now is the new overall leader.
Mohammedia/Morocco − For three weeks in spring he had worked as a Caddie for Maximilian Kieffer on the European Tour, but now he was "fired up for playing". Ben Parker, born in Southport in England but German-based since many years, chose the April tournaments of the Pro Golf Tour in Morocco for his 2015 season debut as a tourplayer. At the Open Casa Green Golf last week he had missed his opportunity for a win by needing three putts on the 18th Green in his final round, but this time he grabbed the chance.
After 54 holes of the Open Royal Golf Anfa Mohammedia the Englishman had played 14 birdies, but merely two bogeys on the first and a double-bogey on the second day of the tournament. His final round on the 5775 meter course of the Mohammedia Royal Golf Club Parker had played perfectly with four birdies on his scorecard.
"I’ve felt a huge self-confidence. I was ready to win", said Parker. "This really is a golf course with character! Very rich variety, every golf club is necessary and you must be able to perform every kind of stroke to succeed. It was a lot of fun to play and win on this course."
There is still one trophy left to win on a tournament in Morocco at the 2015 Pro Golf Tour: This Sunday the Open Madaef in El Jadida takes place as the last of eight tournaments on the Pro Golf Tour’s Morocco-series.