Chile’s Felipe Aguilar produced an incredible back-nine of 28 to win The Championship at Laguna National in Singapore.
The 39-year-old made a ten foot birdie putt on the par three 17th, before holing his second shot on the short par four 17th to finish one shot ahead of Anders Hansen. That unique two-two finish brought Aguilar his second victory on the European Tour, 166 starts after his maiden win in Indonesia six years ago.
Hansen, who has recently made a comeback from wrist surgery, looked set to claim his four victory on the Tour, but the two-time BMW PGA champion made a costly bogey on the 16th. With no birdies coming on the closing two holes, the Dane finished in second alongside David Lipsky of the United States.
“Yesterday I didn’t have a good round and you figure that you’re so far back that you have no chance,” said Aguilar, who shot a disappointing level par round of 72 on Saturday. “But today after the front nine I shot two under I knew I had to go deep and I hit the ball one of the best times I ever have and I went for every single pin.
“Eight under on the back nine to win is pretty strong, especially making the last one on 18 being between clubs. This is something very, very special.
“I was right in between clubs and with the adrenaline you don’t want to hit a half shot. So I took a hard pitching wedge and it went in – it was very special finishing like that.
“On the 17th green I told my caddie if I make a birdie on 18 I might put some pressure on the leader and he said ‘you might make two’. I looked at him and said ‘the way I’m hitting the ball I might make two’, and I did.
“I didn’t think I had made it until my caddie came back and told me and the others congratulated me. That was the cherry on the cake, definitely.”
There will be disappointment for Hansen, who moved four clear on the front-nine. Having started the day tied for the lead with Panuphol Pittayarat, the 43-year-old Dane bounced back from a bogey at the opening hole with birdies at the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh.
25-year-old American, Lipsky would close the gap down to two shots with consecutive birdies at the eighth and ninth, with Aguilar joining him in second after four straight birdies to begin the back-nine.
The chasing duo would fall three behind after Hansen’s birdie on the 12th, but Aguilar’s incredible finish would dramatically see him overhaul the leader and clinch victory after a final round of 62.
Despite a narrow loss, Hansen was quick to reflect upon the positives of his form since returning from injury: “What can you say? It’s just one of those days.
“He had a good day, played well obviously. I thought I played well.
“When you are there you want to get the job done and I didn’t, so not particularly happy.
“The last two weeks have been really good. I’ve hit the ball really well and putted nicely so there is not much to say. I can’t really blame myself for this.”
It was a moment of magic for the charismatic Felipe, who will now move inside the top 130 in the world after this stunning victory.