Alejandro Canizares seals second win

Alejandro Canizares sealed a wire-to-wire victory at the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco to end an eight-year wait for a second European Tour.

After opening with a superb 62, the Spaniard maintained his momentum, ultimately romping to a five-shot victory after closing with a 70.

Not even a best-of-the-day 63 for his closest challenger Andy Sullivan – which saw him romp home in just 29 shots – could threaten Canizares’ canter to victory.

Cañizares won on only his third European Tour start at the 2006 Russian Open, but has had to wait 199 events for win number two – during which time he has been a runner-up four times.

Victory completes an impressive run of results for the 31-year-old, who has not missed a cut since September. That run that now stretches to 16 tournaments, and includes three other top-ten finishes.

“I wasn’t worried that the second win wouldn’t come” – Alejandro Canizares

Alejandro Cañizares, whose father José Maria won five times on The European Tour, said: “It has been a great week, this is a very special moment for me. I have to thank everybody, especially my coaches who gave me a great lesson at the start of the week, and my caddie who really handled me well today.

“To get the win feels unbelievable. My first win was eight years ago so I’ve had to wait a long time for this, I had a few chances along the way but to finally get another one is magnificent.

“I wasn’t worried that the second win wouldn’t come, I thought if I kept working on it and kept my game on, it would come in the end. This is a great step for the rest of my career.”

Scotland’s Richie Ramsay also gave a good account of himself, finish in a tie for 11th in his first event of 2014. The Aberdonian, a two-time winner on the European Tour, had been sidelined by injury but showed no signs of rust in strining together rounds of 72, 71, 68 and 69 to finish on eight-under-par, one shot better than fellow Scot Marc Warren.

Alejandro Canizares: A Ryder Cup prospect? 

After a stunning run of form, which has seen him make every cut going back to September, could Alejandro Canizares force his way into Europe’s Ryder Cup team? Leave your thoughts in our ‘Comments’ section below.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor