First title for Marco Penge, sixth Edoardo Molinari

Edoardo Molinari, with an excellent performance, carded a score of 277 (69 68 73 67, -11) strokes and finished in sixth place in the Hainan Classic, a combined event organized by the DP World Tour and the China Tour at the Blackstone Course (par 72) at the Mission Hills Resort Haikou on the Chinese island of Hainan. Signing his first success on the circuit was Englishman Marco Penge with 271 (68 71 65 67, -17), who left the U.S.’s Sean Crocker and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan, second with 274 (-14), three strokes behind. In fourth with 275 (-13) was the increasingly convincing Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, in fifth with 276 (-12) France’s Martin Couvra and, tied with Molinari, England’s Sam Bairstow and China’s Bowen Xiao, who was at the top after three rounds with the winner. In ninth with 278 (-10) New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti and in 23rd with 282 (71 70 70 71, -6) Andrea Pavan.

Marco Penge, 26, of Horsham, in 47th, started with a bogey, then with seven birdies against another bogey over nine holes took a good margin that he managed by finishing the last four in par (67, -5).

Previously on his roster were two wins on the Challenge Tour and one on the PGA EuroPro Tour. With the feat, he climbed from 45th to 11th on the Race To Dubai (order of merit) and received a check for $433,500 on a prize pool of $2,550,000.

Edoardo Molinari with a partial 67 (-5), the result of six birdies and one bogey, moved up 14 places in the final round and earned his second top ten finish of the season after placing ninth in the Hero Indian Open. Returning after a hand injury, he competed in four events while also going for a prize in the other two, which he finished mid-table. Andrea Pavan redeemed the cut he suffered in the Volvo China Open with a very even round that ended with a 71 (-1, four birdies, three bogeys). He exited after 36 holes Gregorio De Leo, 87th with 145 (72 73, +1).