Bahrain Bapco Championship: Schott kept his head (just) while everyone else lost theirs
Royal GC offered birdies, then demanded a price. Freddy Schott paid it.
Royal GC offered birdies, then demanded a price. Freddy Schott paid it. Sergio García flirted with a vintage win, Patrick Reed flirted with another heist, and Calum Hill lived the nightmare version of a play-off.
Freddy Schott is a DP World Tour winner now. Not because he played perfect golf, but because he was the last man standing when Sunday turned into a decision test and the play-off became a stress test.
Three players finished tied at -17 at Royal Golf Club: Schott (69), Calum Hill (71) and Patrick Reed (67). Schott then won a three-way play-off for his maiden title.
BAPCO ENERGIES BAHRAIN CHAMPIONSHIP (Final) — TOP 10 (incl ties)
POS PLAYER SCORE TOTAL
1 Freddy Schott* -17 271
T2 Patrick Reed -17 271
T2 Calum Hill -17 271
T4 Daniel Hillier -16 272
T4 Sergio Garcia -16 272
6 Ugo Coussaud -15 273
T7 Nacho Elvira -14 274
T7 Grant Forrest -14 274
T9 Oliver Lindell -13 275
T9 Nathan Kimsey -13 275
T9 Casey Jarvis -13 275
T9 Andrea Pavan -13 275
*Won on second playoff holeThe finish: two extra holes, two different types of disaster
The play-off had a neat story arc: Reed blinked first, then Hill detonated.
Play-off hole one: Reed made bogey and was out of it immediately, after thinning his approach into the lip of the left fairway bunker, where he dumped his tee shot.
Play-off hole two: Hill’s tee shot went out of bounds, then he shanked his approach shot, playing 4, and found water. He shook hands and conceded. Schott didn’t need to hole a putt to win.
That’s the thing about these desert weeks. You can “play well” for 71 holes. The last one still gets to grade you.
Schott’s win: not pretty, but repeatable
Schott didn’t win with a closing barrage. He won by avoiding the big, stupid number at the point everyone else started flirting with it.
Schott’s key moment was a nervy-looking chip that simply found putting surface and let the chaos happen elsewhere.
This is how first titles often arrive. Not with fireworks. With survival instincts.
Near misses: García’s Sunday was a warning label
Sergio García gave us the version that makes you believe again, and the version that reminds you why belief can be expensive to follow in play. An excellent opening week, though, and he should be flying and game-ready for LIV’s opener in Riyadh next week.
García made a run of six birdies in nine holes to get himself in position, only to cough up a double bogey on 14 from 77 yards away in 2, which knocked him out of the winning line. He finished T4 on -16.
That’s the Royal GC trap in one paragraph. It looks like a birdie course until you press at exactly the wrong moment.
Reed’s almost-heist: close, but not quite “Majlis mode”
Reed nearly pulled off back-to-back DP World Tour wins. He shot 67 on Sunday and got into the three-way tie at the top.
And then the margins did what they always do:
A bogey on the first play-off hole ended his week.
This wasn’t a collapse. It was one missed step at the exact time you cannot miss a step. That’s elite golf. And it’s why punting this sport is a long game.
Hill’s calamity: a week that deserved better, a finish that didn’t
Hill’s week was built on serious scoring (including that outrageous 61 in round two), and he still found a way to lose it twice: the three-putt bogey on 18 that dragged him into the play-off, then the out-of-bounds/water sequence that ended it.
This is the cruellest version of “don’t compound mistakes”: one bad swing, then the follow-up that makes it fatal. He will hopefully take away a big lesson learned from this situation, as he looked incredibly nervous down the stretch, and it showed in the playoff.
Tips Tracker — £1 EW (Total £2 stake per pick)
Each-way terms used for settlement: 8 places, 1/8 odds (per your request).
Picks carried over from our preview.
Pick Odds Finish Result Return P/L
Thomas Detry 18/1 CUT Lost £0.00 -£2.00
Laurie Canter 22/1 T59 Lost £0.00 -£2.00
Antoine Rozner 28/1 CUT Lost £0.00 -£2.00
Sergio García 50/1 T4 Placed £7.25 +£5.25
Total staked: £8.00
Total returned: £7.25
Net P/L (week): -£0.75
Running P&L
From our last update after Dubai: -£15.30.
Add Bahrain (-£0.75) → Running total: -£16.05Par view: why this week matters
Schott’s win is the sort of result that can look “random” on the ticker, but it isn’t. He won a tournament that turned into a late volatility test. He didn’t win because he was the best player in the field. He won because he made the fewest irreversible mistakes when the trophy started asking questions.
And if you’re keeping notes for Qatar and beyond, file this: Royal GC didn’t reward courage. It rewarded restraint, right up until it rewarded nerve.