Sebastian Garcia sealed a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title after coming through a dramatic two-hole play-off at the Hangzhou Open.
The Spaniard fired a five under par closing round of 67 at Hangzhou West Lake Golf Club to join Peruvian Julian Perico and Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner at 17 under par for the week.
After Steinlechner was eliminated on the first extra hole, Garcia and Perico headed back to the 18th tee for a second time, and once the Peruvian ran into trouble, a stress-free par was enough for Garcia to secure victory.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said.
“Five weeks ago, I was 35th in the Rankings and my target over the last two weeks was to win, so this is a dream for me.
“I was solid today and the putter was working well for me. I’ve been working with a new putting coach which has really helped me.”
Starting the day three shots back, Garcia quickly moved into the red numbers with a birdie on the second before adding three consecutive gains to close out his front nine.
The Spaniard dropped his first shot of the day on the 12th but responded well with birdies on the 14th and 17th to set the clubhouse lead.
Garcia, who has four top five finishes this season, was delighted to finally get over the line.
“I am so pleased to finally win after what’s been a long season,” he added. “I was quite relaxed during the play-off. I definitely felt more nervous during the last hole of regulation play.
“I am definitely going to celebrate this victory when I get home with all my friends and family.”
RELATED: Here’s the prize money breakdown for each golfer at the 2025 Hangzhou Open
Garcia started the second of back-to-back events in China 21st in the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings, with the top 20 set to secure automatic promotion to the DP World Tour following the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A.
Now up to seventh following his victory in Hangzhou, Garcia is on track to return to Golf’s Global Tour at the first time of asking.
“I played for seven years in a row on the DP World Tour, and this win will help me return next year which I am really excited about,” he said.
“Returning just a year after I lost my card means a lot to me.”
Austrian Lukas Nemecz and Sweden’s Albin Bergstrom shared fourth on 16 under par, one shot ahead of Spaniard Victor Pastor, who secured the last place in the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A later this month.
The Road to Mallorca now takes a one-week break before the HotelPlanner Tour finale takes place at Club de Golf Alcanada from October 30 – November 2.
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