Niklas Regner overcame more than a year in the wilderness behind him to win his first international title when he claimed the US$125,000 Egyptian Open, which made a comeback to the global schedule after a gap of 25 years, by two shots.
The Austrian, who started the final day three shots behind overnight leader Yin Ho Yue of Hong Kong, shot a three-under 67 on a tough scoring day at the Madinaty Golf Club, and that was enough for his first win on the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
That winning feeling 😍
Niklas Regner wins the Egyptian Open by 2 shots. pic.twitter.com/05XuToovzP
— AsianDevelopmentTour (@ADT_golf) November 1, 2025
The win moves him to No. 6 in the ADT Order of Merit and puts him in a great position to secure one of 10 available Asian Tour cards.
Thailand’s Tawit Polthai (70) increased his lead on top of the Order of Merit by finishing tied second at 12-under par 268, where he was joined by his compatriot Poom Pattaropong (69) and Carl Jano Corpus (68) of the Philippines.
Morocco’s Ayoub Lguirati (64) shot the best round of the day, and his reward was a jump to tied fifth place at 269 alongside the English duo of Sam Rook (66) and Matt Killen (67). He was the best placed among all players from the North Africa region.
After a couple of great seasons on the HotelPlanner Tour when he finished inside the top-10 seven times between 2021 and 2022, Regner lost his card with just four cuts in 2024. He qualified for the Asian Development Tour (ADT) this year. However, when he needed to pull out of an event in Finland in August and discovered he had slipped disc, it looked like 2025 was also going to be a wasted year.
Regner made a quick recovery and was back on the ADT with a slightly tweaked swing, and his patience and persistence paid dividend when he finished tied seventh in the ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A less than a fortnight ago.
With his coach, Dominic Angkawidjaja, on his bag this week, the comeback was complete with the Egyptian Open triumph.
“I am so happy about this, especially because this is my first international win,” said the 26-year-old Regner.
“The birdie on the 10th was important. I actually hit the drive too long there and the ball was about four-five yards into the rough. But I hit a very decent approach shot from there to about five feet to a tucked pin.
“The back nine was playing tough with the wind and also the four par-three holes, so I was happy that I did not make any mistakes there.”
Corpus was tied for the lead going to the 16th hole, but an unfortunate double bogey there from the fairway bunker took him out of the equation and opened the way for Regner.
“My caddie told me that I was leading on the 14th hole, so that kind of changed my mindset a little bit. Before that, I was going for everything. But I probably became more aware of my shots.
“On 16th, I thought I was right of the bunker. I could not get out of it with two tries with my hybrid. My caddie insisted I change my club to four-iron after that.
“Honestly, I wasn’t really down after that. I’m always going to go for it, especially, when I am trying to win an event. So, if I had to do it again, I’d still try to hit a hybrid.”
Tawit, who missed a five-footer for a birdie on the final hole that would have put some pressure on Regner and given him a solo second place. The ADT Order of Merit leader is guaranteed to graduate to the Asian Tour and managed to widen his lead on the top.
“It’s a little bit sad. I could have finished solo second. But the good thing is, I just kept my process all the time. When I made the putt on the 18th, I did not know that a birdie would have taken me to second place,” said the 31-year-old.
“But yes, I am excited that I am one step closer to winning the Order of Merit.”
Lguirati did not have the best start to his round, making bogeys on the second and third holes. But he knuckled down after that and made seven birdies and an eagle.
“That was a tough round, a lot of wind today. I started with two early bogeys, so to finish the way I did was solid. I’m very happy,” said Lguirati, who improved to 26th place in the Order of Merit.
“I started the year with an injury in my back, so it was very tough for me mentally. But I work so hard with my team, and now my goal is just to try and finish in the top 10, top five.
“I am really enjoying playing the ADT this year, because I also have El Mehdi Fakori from my country with me. We are always travelling together and sharing everything. And I am so happy that he is also playing well.”
Next week, the Asian Development Tour moves to Sokhna Golf Club for the US$125,000 Egypt Golf Series – Red Sea Open.
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