Kristoffer Reitan was as soon as talked about in the identical breath with countryman Viktor Hovland.
Now, six years into his skilled profession, the 26-year-old Norwegian has his first world-ranked victory – and a return journey to the DP World Tour.
Reitan, needing to complete third or higher on this week’s 46-man subject to graduate from the Problem Tour, captured the Rolex Problem Tour Grand Ultimate on Sunday by a shot over Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who missed a 3-footer on his closing gap however nonetheless ended because the winner of the season-long Street to Mallorca factors race.
“I acquired a little bit little bit of a present there,” stated Reitan, who missed a brief putt of his personal at Alcanada Golf Membership’s par-4 ending gap earlier than Neegaard-Petersen, a former standout at Oklahoma State, lipped out the playoff-forcer. Reitan jumped 29 spots to seventh within the closing factors standings, incomes full DPWT membership for the primary time since he acquired via Q-Faculty in 2018, simply months after turning professional.
“Bought my fundamental purpose completed of getting again to the European Tour – and thru an entire season as nicely, not simply via Q-Faculty, regardless that that’s additionally an important achievement,” Reitan added. “However I did it the onerous means this time and it was actually, very nice to have the ability to play nicely when it mattered probably the most.”
Reitan was a extremely regarded junior participant out of Lorenskog when he superior to the quarterfinals of the 2015 U.S. Junior Beginner. Reitan, who had Hovland on his bag after Hovland bowed out within the Spherical of 64 that week, would lose to eventual champion Philip Barbaree. Shortly after his U.S. Junior run, Reitan verbally dedicated to the College of Texas, set to comply with Oklahoma State standouts Hovland and Kristoffer Ventura – who have been a 12 months and three years older than Reitan, respectively – to the Massive 12 starting in Fall 2017. However regardless of signing with the Longhorns, Reitan, as a top-40 beginner on the planet on the time, modified his thoughts a couple of months earlier than enrolling and as a substitute opted to eschew faculty golf.
Reitan’s closing accomplishment as an beginner got here on the 2018 U.S. Open, the place he turned the primary Norway-born participant ever to compete within the championship.
However Reitan has been caught in impartial lately after a disappointing debut season on the DPWT in 2019. He cobbled collectively begins all around the globe for a couple of years till touchdown full-time on the Problem Tour this 12 months. He then missed 5 of his first six begins of the 12 months, although the lone weekend throughout that stretch resulted in a solo third.
Reitan turned a nook in early September and entered the Problem Tour’s finale having cracked the highest 20 in 5 straight tournaments. He opened the week in Mallorce with rounds of 65-64 after which entered Sunday’s closing spherical within the penultimate group and 4 photographs again of Neegaard-Petersen, one other Oklahoma State product, who had maintained his four-shot lead via 11 holes solely to bogey three of his closing seven holes.
Neergaard-Petersen and England’s Robin Williams had already earned DPWT membership for his or her performances on the principle tour this 12 months, so Neegaard-Petersen’s Problem Tour end was gravy. England’s John Parry, Finland’s Oliver Lindell, Spain’s Angel Ayora and Denmark’s Hamish Brown rounded out the highest 5 in closing factors.
Different notables graduating to the DPWT embrace Reitan, Eire’s Conor Purcell, England’s Jack Senior and Brandon Robinson-Thompson, France’s Alexander Levy and Benjamin Hebert, South Africa’s Deon Germishuys, and Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard, who completed No. 22 in factors however earned the ultimate card since Neergaard-Petersen and Williams qualify for the DPWT by way of one other class.
“It’s simply weird,” Reitan stated. “I by no means thought that this may be a chance like a 12 months in the past, and even only a few months in the past. … I’m wanting ahead to [returning to the DPWT] immensely. I’m actually comfortable to be again.”
