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 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 ultimate gap however nonetheless ended because the winner of the season-long Street to Mallorca factors race.
“I received a bit of 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, who wanted to complete third or higher on this week’s 46-man subject to graduate from the Problem Tour, jumped 29 spots to seventh within the ultimate factors standings, incomes full DPWT membership for the primary time since he received via Q-College in 2018, simply months after turning professional.
“Obtained my fundamental aim carried out of getting again to the European Tour – and thru a complete season as properly, not simply via Q-College, although that’s additionally an important achievement,” Reitan added. “However I did it the onerous manner this time and it was actually, very nice to have the ability to play properly 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 Newbie. 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 Huge 12 starting in Fall 2017. However regardless of signing with the Longhorns, Reitan, as a top-40 newbie on the earth on the time, modified his thoughts just a few months earlier than enrolling and as an alternative opted to eschew faculty golf.
“I simply felt like I used to be in a spot the place my degree (of golf) was getting higher and one other 4 years of newbie golf wasn’t as thrilling to me because it most likely ought to’ve been,” Reitan stated in 2017.
Reitan’s ultimate accomplishment as an newbie 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 just a few 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 ultimate spherical within the penultimate group and 4 pictures 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 ultimate seven holes.
Neergaard-Petersen and England’s Robin Williams had already earned DPWT membership for his or her performances on the primary 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 ultimate 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 might be a risk like a 12 months in the past, and even just some months in the past. … I’m trying ahead to [returning to the DPWT] immensely. I’m actually completely happy to be again.”
