Garrick Higgo continued to write his own chapter in the European Tour history books as he powered to a second win in three weeks at the 2021 Canary Islands Championship.
Just 14 days after he lifted the trophy at the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open with a European Tour record low score of 255, a closing 64 with a hole-in-one moved him to 27 under and handed him a six shot victory at Golf Costa Adeje.
Australian Maverick Antcliff was the nearest challenger, one shot clear of Finn Tapio Pulkkanen, with home favourite Adri Arnaus, last week’s winner Dean Burmester, Dane Nicolai Højgaard, England’s Andrew Johnston and Irishman Niall Kearney at 19 under.
But all eyes were on Higgo as he took his score across the 12 rounds of the Canary Islands Swing to 68 under and sent records tumbling.
A third European Tour win in just his 26th event makes him the fastest South African to three wins not including Majors and World Golf Championships, and he also matches the record of Tiger Woods for the fewest number of events needed to claim three European/PGA Tour wins since 1990.
The 21-year-old also becomes the fourth youngest player to three European Tour wins and beats countryman Burmester’s mark for the largest winning margin on the 2021 Race to Dubai set last week.
With Burmester’s win being sandwiched by Higgo’s two, this is the first time that we have had three consecutive South African winners on the European Tour since 2012, and it is the first time that feat has ever been achieved outside of South Africa.
It has been a remarkable run for South African golf of late, with Brandon Stone, J C Ritchie and Wilco Nienaber also making it three wins in a row for the Rainbow Nation on the European Challenge Tour.
Higgo moves up to fifth on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and also moves to the brink of entering the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time.
“I was trying to shoot 30 under,” he said.
“It’s unreal, I played so well today. I hit the ball very nicely so it was a lot less stressful than the last time because I was hitting it a lot better. I can’t believe it happened so quickly again but my game has been good so I can believe it as well.
I think I can go as high as I want to, the way I’m playing I can do a lot of good things
“I’ve been working really hard, a lot of little things, and I’ve also accepted what works for me and stuck with that, I think that’s been a big thing, and not if I don’t play as well look for something. I’m just going to try and keep going.
“I think I can go as high as I want to, the way I’m playing I can do a lot of good things.”
He made a two putt birdie on the first but gave the shot straight back on the second as he missed the green and pushed a five footer to save par.
He then got up and down for birdie on the par five third and an excellent approach to eight feet on the sixth meant he was four shots clear.
But there was better to come as his nine iron at the 166 yard seventh took two hops and found the bottom of the cup for the 18th hole-in-one of the season and 14th in the last eight events.
The eighth has been proving a challenge for the field for the past two weeks but Higgo put his approach to 13 feet and the lead was six at the turn.
He then got up and down for another gain at the 11th and a big drive at the 12th left him just a short pitch into the 12th, setting up another birdie from three feet and an eight shot lead.
A 12 footer on the 15th moved him to 28 under and Ernie Els’ record low score to par of 29 under was in sight but he bogeyed the par three next after missing the green.
Antcliff mixed an eagle on the 11th with five birdies and a bogey in a 65 that handed him his best European Tour finish, while Pulkkanen carded a 66 with seven birdies and two bogeys.
A birdie-birdie finish would have handed Kearney a 59 after registering an eagle, nine birdies and a bogey in his first 16 holes but he parred home for a course record equalling 61.
Arnaus and Burmester carded rounds of 65, Højgaard signed for a 66 and Johnston a 67 to finish a shot ahead of Spaniard Alejandro del Rey, German Sebastian Heisele and Finn Kalle Samooja.
European Tour Release, May 10, 2021
