Filippo Celli birdied three of his final four holes to seal a maiden HotelPlanner Tour title at The Dutch Futures.
The Italian, who started the day with a one-stroke lead, signed for a closing six under par round of 65 to finish on 15 under par for the week, two shots clear of German Hurly Long, who had earlier set the clubhouse lead on 13 under.
Having made three birdies and an eagle on the front, Celli held a three shot lead as he made the turn. However, bogeys on ten and 14 dropped the 24-year-old back to 12 under par and into solo second.
After picking up a shot on 15 to move level with Long, the Italian produced a pinpoint approach on the par four 17th to set up birdie before he closed out his round with a sixth birdie of the day on the 72nd hole.
“It’s tough to describe the emotions,” he said.
“I was waiting for this moment for a long time, but it’s finally arrived, and I am very happy, especially after the first two rounds. Shooting 15 under over the weekend is very good, so I am very proud of my effort.
“The front nine gave me believe in myself to stay patient on the back nine. I had two bogeys, but I just kept in the present and to finish birdie-birdie helped massively.”
Celli arrived at The Dutch in good form with three top five finishes in his last four starts on the Road to Mallorca, including a runner-up at the Interwetten Open.
After opting to take a week off during last week’s Vierumäki Finnish Challenge supported by Finnish Golf Union, the Italian felt his maiden victory was coming.
“I didn’t know when this was going to come but I’ve been playing very well the last month,” he added.
“Last week I didn’t touch a club and took a break after a lot of tournaments. This week I asked my coach to come and check a couple of things but everything was heading the right way.”
Celli jumps six places to third on the Road to Mallorca Rankings following his victory, and the 24-year-old is eager to finish the year strong with six events before the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A.
“I am very happy but I think there’s six more tournaments so I will try and focus on every week and finish as high as possible on the Rankings,” he said.
“Obviously, golf is very frustrating so I will just focus on being present and as patient as possible.”
Frenchman Oihan Guillamoundeguy and Scotsman Daniel Young share third on ten under par, one shot ahead of American Chase Hanna, Belgian James Meyer de Beco and Scot Euan Walker.
Scotsman David Law remains top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings, with Guillamoundeguy still holding second place. Young moves up three places to fourth, ahead of Englishman Joshua Berry, who drops to fifth.
The Road to Mallorca now heads to Sweden for the Dormy Open at Upsala Golf Club from August 28-31.
About the HotelPlanner Tour
The HotelPlanner Tour, formerly the Challenge Tour, had its first official season in 1989, and has developed into a proven training ground, where the champions-in-waiting compete across the globe for a place on the DP World Tour.
Many players who have progressed from the HotelPlanner Tour have gone on to become Major Champions – including Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick and Brooks Koepka – and Ryder Cup stars, such as Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Nicolai Højgaard and Tyrrell Hatton.
Using its vast international schedule and relationships with golf federations and PGAs, the HotelPlanner Tour is widely accessible to professionals from across the globe, giving players from developing golfing nations the opportunity to test their skill amongst some of the most talented up and coming stars in world golf.
HotelPlanner, a leading travel technology company, has been the title partner of the HotelPlanner Tour since the start of the 2025 season.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group administers the DP World Tour, the HotelPlanner Tour, the Legends Tour and the G4D Tour and, as the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, stages golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup, in partnership with the PGA of America.
The European Tour group has Strategic Partnerships with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour, the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association (CGA), the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), and the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India. These partnerships provide global pathways for players from across the world to compete internationally on the DP World Tour, the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group which was established in 1972, as well as the HotelPlanner Tour.
