Staff WriterIf you were trying to script chaos at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, you’d probably tone this down for realism. On a wild final day in Bahrain, 24-year-old German Freddy Schott outlasted Calum Hill and Patrick Reed in a three-man play-off to claim his first DP World Tour title – and he didn’t even need to hole the winning putt.
All three finished regulation play at 17 under par, Schott closing with a 69 to join overnight leader Hill and a charging Reed, who fired a seven-under 67 to erase a four-shot deficit. What followed was part golf, part demolition derby, and a finishing chapter the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship will be replaying for years.
Reed Bows Out, Hill Implodes, Schott Stands Tall
The first extra trip down the last saw Reed blink first. The American, who had dragged himself into the playoff with that closing 67, stumbled to a bogey and exited stage left, leaving Schott and Hill to sort it out mano a mano.
On their 74th hole of the week, Hill’s tee shot went adventuring – first out of bounds, then, with his reload, into the water. At that point the Scot did the decent, if slightly haunted, thing and conceded, sparing Schott the formality of tapping in for the title he’d just about wrestled into his hands.
It was a sporting gesture from Hill at the end of a day in which the leaderboard looked like a cardiogram. Sunday was all motion: red numbers, wrecked cards, and one young German trying very hard to look like he belonged at the centre of it all.
A Rollercoaster Round For Schott
Schott didn’t tiptoe into contention; he charged the front nine like someone who hadn’t read the memo about pacing yourself in desert heat. Four birdies in his first seven holes piled the pressure on Hill and sent a clear message to the rest of the field that he wasn’t just here for the hummus.
Then came the wobble. A dropped shot at the eighth was the first speed bump; a double bogey at the 11th felt like the wheels might actually come off. Momentum, previously galloping, suddenly looked like it had been tranquilised.
Schott explained exactly what was going through his head in that stretch.
“It still hasn’t sunk in yet. It will take a while, but it’s amazing. I can’t even think of a better scenario that this at the moment.
It was tough, especially towards the end. The start was okay, because I was playing alright. It had good flow to it. Obviously, nerves kicked in from the back nine onwards. I was happy that I managed it okay – not perfect, but okay – and you guys saw what happened, so I’m very happy now.”
The round’s turning point came around the 10th and 11th, where Schott sampled just about every emotion available to a touring pro.
“We just missed out on an eagle on 10. We had a difficult part down the slope. I hit a great putt down there for an easy birdie. I missed it a bit left on 11. The plan was to go six or seven metres right of the pin, unfortunately I pulled it. Pulls tend to get long, so it went long left and all of a sudden it was going at the pin, and it was coming in very hot. I found myself on the back of the green there. It was a very difficult chip up; I didn’t manage it well. Two putts, just a silly double bogey.”
Most players would spend the cart ride to the next tee quietly re-living the disaster in high-definition. Schott chose not to sit down – literally.
“We get a ride from the 11th to the 12th, and I just said: Okay, I’m not taking a ride, I’m walking just to settle myself again, to stay in the moment. That’s what I said to myself: These are moments you’re here for; that’s the reason why you play golf – just try to press the pedal down and go on. We hit a beauty into 12, a good birdie on 13 and just tried to scrap it around those last few holes.”
Birdies at 12 and 13 dragged him back into the fight. Even after another dropped shot at the 17th, he somehow clung on to the number that would get him into the play-off and, ultimately, into the winner’s circle of the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship.
The Caddie In His Ear, Not In His Way
Behind the shots was a quietly heroic performance from Schott’s caddie, Taka, who spent much of the final round acting as part psychologist, part magician, distracting his man from the intrusive thoughts that tend to appear when a maiden win is on the line.
“Luckily, I was speaking to Taka, my caddie. He kept me from all these thoughts, completely away. We were just talking about anything but golf and it was great. He did an unbelievable job this week and I couldn’t be happier to be working with him.”
If you’re wondering what elite-level sports psychology looks and sounds like, it’s often this: two people talking about absolutely anything other than the fact that you’re trying to win a golf tournament on foreign soil with your career about to change.
Chasers Come Up Short As Schott Breaks Through
This wasn’t a two-horse race. A chasing pack headed by Daniel Hillier and Sergio Garcia spent most of Sunday threatening to crash the party. Hillier’s sparkling 66 and Garcia’s composed 68 both posted 16 under, one shy of the magic number, good enough only for a share of fourth.
France’s Ugo Coussaud finished alone in sixth at 15 under, another player who will be wondering quite how he managed to miss out in a round where opportunities seemed to be hanging from the date palms.
But in the end, the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship belonged to Schott.
From World No. 436 To Race To Dubai Contender
This was Schott’s 91st DP World Tour start and, in many ways, the payoff for a lot of lonely weeks on the road. Victory vaults him into the top ten of the season’s Race to Dubai Rankings and sends him rocketing from 436th in the Official World Golf Ranking to comfortably inside the top 200.
For a player who has been knocking on the door without ever quite kicking it off its hinges, this is more than just a nice week in the desert; it’s a statement that he belongs at this level, on this tour, against this calibre of field.
Schott, unsurprisingly, is still processing it all. “The way I feel is indescribable. I have no words for it. I’m just glad that I got it over the line, and we will see what the future holds.”
Given how he handled the pressure cooker of the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship – four early birdies, a mid-round meltdown, a stubborn recovery and a play-off won amid someone else’s disaster – the future may well hold quite a lot.
For now, though, Freddy Schott is a DP World Tour winner, and Bahrain has its champion. The rest of the season has been officially put on notice.
