Nairobi: Darius van Driel won his maiden DP World Tour title in impressive fashion on Sunday, claiming a wire-to-wire triumph at the Kenya Open.
The Dutch golfer lost his card last season but graduated again through the Tour’s Qualifying School and won on his 112th appearance.
“It means a lot... it’s a dream come true,” said an emotional Van Driel who carded a final round 67 to finish two shots clear of England’s Joe Dean and Nacho Elvira of Spain.
Van Driel, who began the tournament with a 66, was in a four-way tie for the lead around the turn on Sunday before pulling clear with an eagle at the 10th.
“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’,” the 34-year-old said.
“Now it’s finally there, it’s what you always dream of. I was calm, but once the last putt went in I felt the emotions.
“I never thought it would hit that hard but it did.”
The milestone win moved Van Driel up to sixth on the Race to Dubai Rankings.
For runner-up Dean it was a “life changing” week in Nairobi, with the Qualifying School graduate working as a delivery driver last week to help fund his travel to the tournament.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” said Dean.
“It’s got to be (life changing). It’s what people dream of, it’s what I’ve been aiming to do for a long time. After the last three or four years I never thought I’d get another chance. Still some gremlins to get past in order to get to my full potential, but like anyone you’ve got to get over them, squash them and keep going.”
