Dutchman, Darius van Driel claimed his maiden DP World Tour title in wire-to-wire fashion with a closing 67 at the Magical Kenya Open at Muthaiga in Nairobi.
Tournament Details
Tournament: Magical Kenya Open 2024
Venue: Muthaiga Golf Club
Dates: February 21– 25, 2024
Purse: 1,750,000 Euros.
Dutchman, Darius van Driel was on Sunday crowned the 2024 DP World Tour Magical Kenya Open champion at the Muthaiga Golf Club. The soft-spoken pro won the global event in a spectacular fashion after leading from Day One, taking the final day on a total of 14 under par 270 following round of 66, 69, 68 and 67.
It was a nip-and-tuck afternoon at Muthaiga Golf Club, with a four-way tie for the lead around the turn before Van Driel eagled the 10th to take control. The 34-year-old’s golfing journey has been a remarkable one, with him giving up the game for a number of years after breaking his hand in a banana boat accident, but he decided to turn professional after finishing second at the 2015 Alps Tour Q-School.
“It means a lot. It’s a dream come true. As a kid you dream on the putting green … ‘this is for a win on the Challenge Tour’ or ‘this is for a win on the DP World Tour’. Now it’s finally there, it’s what you always dream of – Darius van Driel.
He won the Order of Merit in his maiden season and then graduated from the European Challenge Tour in 2019, the same season he lost in the final of the Belgian Knockout to Guido Migliozzi on the DP World Tour.
Another runner-up finish came at the 2021 Porsche European Open and while he lost his card last season, he regained it at the Qualifying School and is now a winner in his 112th appearance.
The win, the first in 2,198 days for a Dutch player on the DP World Tour, moves Van Driel up to sixth on the Race to Dubai Rankings and eighth on the International Swing.
“It means a lot. It’s a dream come true. As a kid you dream on the putting green … ‘this is for a win on the Challenge Tour’ or ‘this is for a win on the DP World Tour’. Now it’s finally there, it’s what you always dream of. I was calm, but once the last put went in, I felt the emotions. I never thought it would hit that hard but it did,” said emotional van Driel.
“I saw that everybody was around 10 under and Manuel Elvira was also around there. In my head, it was a bit of one versus one; me making eagle and him making par on the 10th was a bit of a difference. That was a good one. I thought 17 was a reasonable birdie hole, 18 was a good birdie or eagle opportunity. I thought in my head, maybe 12, 13 under wins. If I can get to 14, I’m pretty safe. That was the number I had in my head at the start of the round as well.”
Nacho Elvira’s younger brother, Manuel made the first move of the day from the leaders as he got lucky to avoid hitting the trees on the third and left himself 15 feet to take the lead. Van Driel followed him in from 10 feet and while Manuel Elvira bogeyed the 5th after hitting an ugly shank from the bunker, he hit back by making the most of the par-five 7th.
There was soon a four-way tie for the lead, with Spaniard Adrian Otaegui setting the target at 11 under after a 65 but Van Driel burst clear with his eagle at the 10th courtesy of a brilliant 40-foot right-to-lefter. He dropped a shot at the par-three next after missing the green but had the putter going and a 25-foot effort on the 12th restored his cushion.
England’s Matthew Jordan had reduced the deficit to one after he took on the par-four 17th and got up and down for a sixth birdie of the day but he bogeyed the last after going out of bounds off the tee and a 66 left him in the clubhouse at 11 under alongside Otaegui.
A Manuel Elvira bogey on the 14th meant the nearest challengers on course were three back but the pack were not giving up the chase. Dean had bogeyed the 7th but he picked up shots on the 9th, 10th, 13th and 15th to get to 11 under, where he was joined by Nacho Elvira, who left himself a tap-in at the 17th after birdies on the 2nd, 7th, 10th and 14th and a dropped shot on the 9th.
An up-and-down on the last for a 66 from Nacho Elvira meant Van Driel’s lead was just one stood on the 18th tee and Dean also moved to 12 under with his two-putt birdie on the last in a 67. Van Driel was however coming up just short of the green in two and getting up and down, with Manuel Elvira also making a birdie in a closing 70 to finish in a three-way tie for fourth 11 under.
Scottish pair Ewen Ferguson and Connor Syme finished at 10 under, one clear of South African Deon Germishuys and Frenchman Jeong weon Ko, whose closing 64 was the lowest round of the tournament.
Following the win, Van Driel pocketed $425,000 from the total prize purse of $2.5 million.
LEADERBOARD – TOP 10
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| 1. | Van Driel Darius | 66 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 270 |
| T2. | Dean Joe | 68 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 272 |
| T2 | Elvira Nacho | 69 | 69 | 68 | 66 | 272 |
| T4 | Elvira Manuel | 70 | 66 | 67 | 70 | 273 |
| T4 | Jordan Mathew | 74 | 65 | 68 | 66 | 273 |
| T4 | Otaegui Adrian | 69 | 70 | 69 | 65 | 273 |
| T7 | Syme Connor | 67 | 68 | 70 | 69 | 274 |
| T7 | Ferguson Ewen | 69 | 67 | 70 | 68 | 274 |
| 9 | Germishuys Deon | 71 | 66 | 69 | 69 | 275 |
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