Julien Guerrier was already facing 230 starts without capturing his maiden DP World Tour title, so what was another nine holes?
Guerrier, a 39-year-old journeyman from Evreux, France, battled crowd-favorite Jorge Campillo all Sunday at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande in San Roque, Spain, before a marathon playoff finally ended in his favor, leaving Guerrier the champion of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters.
“I can’t believe I made it,” said Guerrier, who holed an 8-footer for par, his ninth in as many extra holes, to eliminate Campillo. “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. … Today it goes my way, so I’m very happy.”
Guerrier had twice won on three different tours (Challenge, French and Alps) after an amateur career highlighted by victory in the 2006 British Amateur. But he’d taken awhile to find his footing at Europe’s highest level. His 11 top-10s the past three seasons on the DPWT match his total since turning pro in 2007. He had three top-3s last season, including a runner-up at the Porsche European Open, where he was tied for the 54-hole lead before losing to Tom McKibbin, nearly half his age, by two shots.
Again, Guerrier earned himself a share of lead through three rounds, starting Sunday at Sotogrande tied with Campillo at 19 under. Neither player made a bogey on the front nine. Guerrier birdied three of his first four holes, Campillo three of his first seven, before a two-shot swing at the par-4 10th, where Campillo sank a 23-footer for birdie and Guerrier carded bogey after nearly hitting his drive out of bounds and having to play his second shot from the top of a wall.
Two holes later, however, Guerrier was on the right side of a two-shot swing, two-putting for birdie at the par-5 12th while Campillo rinsed his second shot and made bogey.
The wild battle continued with a Guerrier double at the par-3 13th, a Campillo birdie at the par-5 14th and Campillo bogey at the par-4 15th. Campillo also bogeyed the par-4 18th, where Guerrier rolled in an 18-footer for par to force the playoff.
And in the playoff, Campillo had his chances, none greater than the 7-footer he missed at the third extra hole (18). Guerrier lipped out a chip at the seventh (18), too. In extra holes, 17 of the 18 scores were pars.
But in the end, 230 starts and nine additional holes later, Guerrier was standing as a DPWT winner for the first time.
“On the last putt, I was thinking of them, my kids, to give me the strength to hole it,” said Guerrier, a father of two, “and I did.”
