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11/30 00:38 CST David Puig joins Seve Ballesteros in history with Australian PGA win David Puig joins Seve Ballesteros in history with Australian PGA win BRISBANE, Australia (AP) --- Spain's David Puig has claimed the biggest title of his professional career and joined countryman great Seve Ballesteros by winning the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland. Co-leader coming into Sunday's final round, Puig's nerveless final round 5-under 66 was built on a flurry of early birdies to break free of a congested leaderboard, which saw 31 players within six shots of the lead at the start of the day. Puig became only the ninth international winner of the event and just the second since 1998, joining compatriot Seve Ballesteros --- a former world No. 1 and five-time major champion --- who won the tournament in 1981 as the only other Spanish player to claim the title. "It feels amazing. 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," the 23-year-old, who plays on the LIV Tour said. "It feels unbelievable especially to win here in Australia and I played some awesome golf so I'm really excited and happy. A simple two-putt for par on the par-4 18th was enough for a two shot victory over China's Wenyi Ding and his third professional title, but first on the DP World Tour. Ding finished at 16-under 268 and also had a final round 66. Local favorites Marc Leishman (15 under, tied third) and Min Woo Lee (14 under, tied fifth) were both in contention at the turn but couldn't find the putts they needed to get back in contention. New Zealander Nick Voke (66) made three birdies on the back stretch to finish in a tie for third with Leishman. Former world No. 1 and 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott (69) finished seventh at 13 under 271 and will rue a number of birdie misses that would have had him right in the mix in his native Queensland state. While other contenders slipped, Puig held his nerve and made birdie on the 13th and saved par at the 14th to keep Ding at arms length as the Chinese player birdied the 16th and 17th in a late charge. "I was definitely nervous but I think I kinda kept my composure pretty well and obviously that start (to the final round) helped a lot." said Puig, who only made two bogeys all week and none on championship Sunday. The Australian PGA is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australia and the European tour, which is starting its 2025-26 season just two weeks after Rory McIlroy won the Race to Dubai title. McIlroy will highlight the field in next week's Australian Open. ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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