Julien Guerrier Wins Epic Nine-Hole Playoff To Secure Andalucia Masters
By: Derek Clements | Mon 21 Oct 2024
JULIEN GUERRIER broke Spanish hearts as he defeated home hope Jorge Campillo in a record-equalling nine-hole playoff to claim the Andalucia Masters. It was the Frenchman’s maiden DP World Tour victory in his 230th start.
Large crowds at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande witnessed a thrilling battle between Campillo and Guerrier, with the lead changing hands several times before a playoff set up when Guerrier holed a 15-foot putt on the final green to join Campillo on 21 under par.
Guerrier came out on top at the ninth extra hole, holing from eight feet.
He struggled to hold back the tears as he said: "I'm feeling great and I can't believe I made it. Because it's been a really long time I've been waiting for it. We work really hard every week for that but we have to stay patient.
"I know Jorge Campillo is a great player but today it goes my way so I'm very happy."
"I knew it would be really hard because Jorge's putting is amazing. Also my iron game was not in good shape today but my putting was really good.
"On the last putt, I was thinking of my kids to give me the strength to hit it, so thanks to my family and my team. It's a long wait and I'm very happy."
Starting the day locked together at the summit on 19 under, three early birdies from Guerrier saw him open up a two-shot lead after five holes before back-to-back birdies from Campillo at the sixth and seventh hauled him level.
A turning point came on the 10tth, with Campillo enjoying a two-shot swing after Guerrier almost drove out of bounds.
Guerrier bounced back with a seven-foot birdie on the 11th to trim the deficit to a single shot before Campillo hit his approach at the 12th into the water.
The Frenchman, meanwhile, found the green in two and two-putted for a birdie, while Campillo carded his first bogey of the week.
The lead went back Campillo's way with another two-shot swing on the par-three 13th as Guerrier missed the green and had to chip twice to slip one shot behind his rival.
And with Campillo holing his birdie putt from around four feet at the long 14th, he moved two in front of Guerrier.
But Campillo failed to get up and down for par on the 15th, while Guerrier did brilliantly to save par.
Leading by one on the 18th tee, Campillo bogeyed the last to open the door for Guerrier, and the Frenchman walked right through it, showing great guts to hole his must-make putt and take it to a play-off.
The pair each parred the first eight holes before Campillo hit a wild tee shot and was unable to reach the green, finding a bunker. He played a poor shot and dropped a shot. Guerrier also failed to find the green in two but managed to secure the par that was good enough to give him the win.
Who Is Julien Guerrier?
Julien Guerrier was born in Evreux, French on July 1, 1985.
He comes from a family with a rich sporting pedigree: his grandfather was a fencing world champion; his grandmother played basketball for France; his mother played basketball in the French First Division; and his father played football in the French Second Division.
He first took up golf at primary school and soon got down to scratch, He had a successful amateur career, which included winning The Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s in 2006. He turned professional after competing in The Masters in 2007.
Guerrier finished third on the Alps Tour Order of Merit in 2008 to graduate to the Challenge Tour for 2009. He again progressed, finishing 16th on the 2009 Challenge Tour Rankings to earn a DP World Tour card for 2010, although he later improved his exemption category at qualifying school, recording a record low round of 60 in the process.
He failed to retain his card after the 2010 seasonand returned to the Challenge Tour for 2011. At the end of 2011 he again qualified to play on the DP World Tour for 2012 but once again failed to keep his card.
After a number of season on the Challenge Tour, Guerrier finally recorded his first wins in 2017, winning the France Golf Open and the Irish Challenge. He finished sixth in the Order of Merit and returned to the DP World Tour for 2018.
He had a good start to 2018, finishing third in the Oman Open and ended the season in 86th place in the Race to Dubai to retain his card for 2019 although he missed most of that year through injury before returning in September.
His victory in Spain is his first on the DP World Tour in his 230th start. He has made 128 cuts, with one runner-up finish and seven third places. He started the week in 81st place in the Race to Dubai and ranked 207th in the world. He moves up to 18th place in the Race to Dubai and has secured his place in the field for the DP World Tour Championship in November. His world ranking has climbed to 115.
He averages 304.21 yards from the tee, hits 53.07% of fairways and finds 67.93% of greens in regulation. He gets up and down from the sand 52.94% of the times, averages 29.24 putts per round and has a stroke average of 70.40
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