April 07, 2019: Daan Huizing made golfing history by becoming the first player to win a full-field mixed professional tournament with his triumph at the Jordan Mixed Open presented by Ayla.
The Dutchman began the final round at Ayla Golf Club two shots behind overnight leader Meghan MacLaren, who opened the world-first tournament with consecutive rounds of seven under par 65.
MacLaren started the final day strong, carding two birdies on her first three holes, but Huizing was able to slowly chip away at the Englishwoman’s lead, and by the time the two golfers reached the 13th tee, they were deadlocked on 14 under par.
The stage was set for a never-before-seen battle down the stretch between a male and female golfer competing for the same first prize.
In the end, it was Huizing who came out on top as he converted three crucial birdies on the closing holes and signed for a four under par 68, which gave him a two-stroke victory.
The win was an emotional one for the 28-year-old, who admitted it was a tough off-season after he narrowly missed out on a European Tour card at the Challenge Tour Grand Final last year.
MacLaren finished the Jordan Mixed Open presented by Ayla alone in second place — two shots clear of Martin Simonsen, who matched the Ayla Golf Club course record with a final round of eight under par 64, which moved him 17 places up the leaderboard and into third place.
The Jordan Mixed Open presented by Ayla assembled 40 players from each of the European Challenge Tour, the Staysure Tour and the Ladies European Tour, plus three amateurs, into the same 123-player field and will forever be remembered as a game-changing tournament.
The final grouping was comprised of one player from each of the three Tours, and of the 66 players that made the cut, 20 represented the Ladies European Tour, 21 were from the Staysure Tour and 25 were from the Challenge Tour.
In addition, the back nine battle for the win between MacLaren and Huizing created tense drama all the way to the end.
Players from all three Tours were represented in the top five. The best performer from the over-50s contingent was José Coceres of Argentina who finished in a tie for fourth place alongside Challenge Tour players Jack Senior and Oliver Farr.
Thorough research was performed by tournament officials before the event began. Data on driving distance, approach shot distance, club selection and scoring was collected after each round, and will provide crucial findings to all three Tours.
The low-amateur competitor, Emilie Paltrinieri of Italy, carded rounds of 70-74-73 to finish the tournament on one over par.
Ladies European Tour
