David Puig is now in the same sentence as Seve Ballesteros.
The 23-year-old LIV golfer won the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland, becoming the first and only Spaniard to pull off that feat since Ballesteros in 1981.
“My name, being with Seve’s name as the only two [from Spain] ... makes it even more special,” Puig said.
Puig finished at 18 under, two strokes ahead of China’s Wenyi Ding. He co-led after 54 holes, with 31 players within six shots of the lead, but pulled away with a final-round 5-under 66.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “I’ve really had a lot of close calls in a few events throughout this year and last year and I kinda wasn’t able to pull it through. It feels unbelievable, especially to win here in Australia and I played some awesome golf, so I’m really excited and happy.”
Puig elected to skip his senior year at Arizona State and joined LIV in September 2022. It’s the second big recent win for LIV—and Spain. Last week, Josele Ballester, the 2024 U.S. Amateur Champion who joined LIV this year after also playing collegiately at Arizona State, claimed the Asian Tour’s Saudi International.
As the European nation racks up victories, Ballesteros, a five-time major champion, always serves as inspiration.
“He’s such a big figure for Spanish golf,” Puig said. “His presence and everything he accomplished; it’s marked in Spanish players and in a way we try to be like him.
“Play with that freedom ... attitude, behavior and how much he cared and hopefully we’re kind of on the right path.”
More Golf from Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as LIV Golf’s David Puig Wins Australian PGA Championship, Joins Elite Company.
