Ben Campbell's stats for International Series Morocco show that his last-gasp win at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam's formidable Red Course was richly deserved.
Three strokes behind playing partner John Catlin on the 17th tee, with just two shots left to play, the New Zealander pulled off a stunning eagle, birdie finish – something that Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond did to win in 2022 – to match Catlin in regulation play, when the American could only manage two closing pars.
A stunning 20-foot birdie putt from just off the 18th green then sealed the deal on the first play-off hole, giving 32-year-old Campbell a second title on The International Series title, after he pulled off a similar come-from-behind win against 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith from Australia in last season’s Hong Kong Open.
The victory has moved him to number two in The International Series Rankings, which Catlin leads by some margin with seven events still to be played this season.
The top ranked player will of course earn a life-changing place on next year’s LIV Golf League.
Campbell’s best categories came in putting and short game.
He was a clear winner in Scrambling, with a super impressive average of 91.30%, followed by Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma at 80%, quite some distance behind.
Remarkably, he was 100% in Sand Saves, making eight out of eight – which included three out of three in the last round. He was joint top of that category.
He finished third in Putts per Round, with an average of 27, and 10th in Putts per Green in Regulation, with 83.
Campbell's stats were solid in other key categories. He averaged 68.06% for Greens in Regulation (GIR) to finish tied 36th, and was tied 26th in Driving Distance with a median of 299 yards. A 65% in Fairways in Regulation placed him in a share of 15th of the players making the cut.
The one category that really stood out was Fewest Bogies – which Campbell topped with three.
Teeing off in round four, the man from Queenstown had not made a bogey in 105 holes, not since his third hole in the second round of the International Series Macau presented by Wynn, his last Asian Tour event.
He was just a nine-hole stretch away from tying Korean LPGA star Jinyoung Ko’s incredible run of 114 holes in 2019 for the professional world record. And he was also close to American Tiger Woods clean sheet of 110 holes in his banner season of 2000, when he won three Majors and 10 events in total.
Bogies on the opening two holes and another on 12, quickly put paid to any records being matched or broken but it was still a brilliant performance by a golfer clearly entering the prime of his career.
Catlin barely put a foot out of place in the first three rounds, and his stats were slightly better than Campbell’s across the board – Fairways in Regulation 66.67%, GIR 72.22%, Putts in GIR 1.67, Driving Distance 301.8 yards. But six bogies to Campbell's three proved the deciding factor in an exciting and extremely close fought battle.
Statistics Categories leaders at the International Series Morocco (of players making the cut):
Average Putts per Round - Charlie Lindh (SWE), Phachara Khongwatmai (THA): 26.5
Putts per GIR - Charlie Lindh (SWE): 1.64
GIR - Taichi Kho (HKG): 86.11%
Fairways in Regulation - Junghwan Lee (KOR): 78.33%
Driving Distance - Eugenio Chacarra (ESP): 331.60 yards
Most Eagles - Yurav Premlall (RSA): 3
Most Birdies - Jeunghun Wang (KOR): 22
Fewest Bogies - Ben Campbell (NZL): 3
Scrambling - Ben Campbell (NZL): 91.30%
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of 10 elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings leader promotion to the LIV Golf League
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