David Puig followed in the footsteps of European golf great Seve Ballesteros as he became the second Spanish winner of the BMW Australian PGA Championship with a stunning two-shot victory.
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The 23-year-old fired a flawless 66 on Sunday to finish the tournament on 18 under par and secure his maiden DP World Tour title on his 15th start.
Puig began the day in a three-way tie for the lead but soon found himself three clear at the summit after reeling off a hat-trick of birdies at the second, third and fourth.
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He then kept the chasing pack at bay by picking up further shots at the eighth and 13th before parring his way home to become the first winner of the 2026 DP World Tour season.
Wenyi Ding finished alone in second on 16 under after making seven birdies and two bogeys in his closing 66, with Marc Leishman and Nick Voke another shot back.
Puig opened his birdie account for the day at the second before making another from around 30 feet on the third. He then took advantage of the par-three fourth for the first time this week to complete his birdie hat-trick.
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After sinking his long-range birdie attempt on the eighth, Puig saved par from five feet at the 11th to sit two strokes clear of his nearest challengers.
He produced a sensational approach on the 13th before tapping in his birdie putt to temporarily stretch his lead to four shots and then got up and down from a tricky spot on the 14th to keep his card clean.
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A late charge from Ding cut Puig’s lead to two in the closing stages and he produced a nerveless par save on the 16th to remain in control before closing with successive pars to seal victory.
Player Quotes
David Puig: “It feels unbelievable, especially winning here in Australia. They have awesome golf so I’m really excited and happy.
“I was definitely nervous, but I think I kind of kept my composure really well. Obviously that start helped a lot.
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“I never saw him (Seve) play in person, which kind of sucks to be honest, but obviously you watch replays of every major he won and kind how he did and his little movie and show that there is, seen it at least three or four times. He’s such a big figure for Spanish golf and you see also Jon (Rahm) and pretty much every player but kind of close with John Rahm and the stories that he has and all he knows about what Seve accomplished too and everything.
“It’s just his presence and everything he accomplished. I guess it’s just part of Spanish players and in a way we try to be like Seve and play with that freedom. Kind of follow his short game a little bit and his attitude and behaviour and how much he cared and all that. So we all kind of try and look like a little bit like him and hopefully we’re kind on the right path.”
