David Puig's breakthrough BMW Australian PGA triumph

David Puig followed in the footsteps of European legend Seve Ballesteros as he became only the second Spanish winner of the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

The 23-year-old fired a final round of 66 to finish the tournament on 18 under par and secure his maiden DP World Tour title by two shots on only his 15th start.

After emulating Ballesteros, who won this event at Royal Melbourne in 1981, Puig said: "It feels unbelievable, especially winning here in Australia.

"They have awesome golf, so I'm really excited and happy. I was definitely nervous, but I think I kind of kept my composure really well. Obviously that start helped a lot.

"I want to thank my fiancée. She's been with me throughout the last seven years. She's incredible. Also my parents and her family. I think we're a really close group. We get along really well. It's just amazing the support I get. Obviously my name being with Seve’s name as the only two Spaniards to have won this event makes it even more special. Really happy.”

Puig began the day in a three-way tie for the lead but soon found himself three clear after successive birdies from the second. He then kept the chasing pack at bay by picking up further shots at the eighth and 13th before parring his way home to become the first winner of the 2026 DP World Tour season.

Wenyi Ding finished alone in second on 16 under after making seven birdies and two bogeys in his closing 66, with Marc Leishman and Nick Voke another shot back.

Puig opened his birdie account for the day at the second before making another from around 30 feet on the third. He then took advantage of the par-three fourth.

After sinking a long-range birdie putt on the eighth, Puig saved par from five feet at the 11th to sit two strokes clear of his nearest challengers.

He produced a sensational approach on the 13th before tapping in his birdie putt to temporarily stretch his lead to four shots and then got up and down from a tricky spot on the 14th to keep his card clean.

A late charge from Ding cut Puig's lead to two in the closing stages and he produced a nerveless par save on the 16th to remain in control before closing with successive pars to seal victory.

Who is David Puig

Puig was born on December 7, 2001 in La Garriga, Spain.

He had a successful junior career and played for Spain in the Junior World Cup in Japan, where he finished second in 2018 and third the following year. He represented Europe in the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup and finished second at the 2021 European Amateur.

In 2019, Puig enrolled at Arizona State University and started playing college golf with Arizona State Sun Devils. Playing in just his fifth collegiate stroke play tournament, he won the 2021 Southwestern Invitational by a record nine strokes, and then defended his title in 2022.

Puig also played in the Arnold Palmer Cup in 2020 and 2021, finishing both events with an individual result of 3–1.

In 2022, Puig's Sun Devils team advanced to the final match at the NCAA Championship. He was invited to the inaugural tournament of the LIV Golf Invitational Series at Centurion. He turned professional in September 2022 and immediately joined LIV. He also joined the Asian Tour and in his first start, the International Series Morocco, he held the third round lead before finishing third.

In October 2023, he recorded his first win as a pro, at the International Series Singapore on the Asian Tour, where he led wire to wire and won by five strokes.

This was his 15th start on the DP World Tour and his first win. He also has two third and three top-10s.

He averages 303.83 yards from the tee, hits 69.05% of fairways and finds 77.78% of greens in regulation. He averages 28.33 putts per round, gets up and down from the sand 100% of the time and has a stroke average of 66.50.

What's in David Puig's golf bag?

• Titleist TSR3 driver, Ventus Fujikara 7X shaft
• Taylormade Qi10 3-wood, Ventus Fujikara 7X shaft
• Srixon Z Forged II 4-iron
• Srixon Z Forged II 5-9 irons
• Titleist Vokey Design SM10 wedges, 45°, 50°, and 54°
• Scotty Cameron T9.5 Tour Only putter