Getty Image / Stuart Franklin
Chances are you had never heard of Yurav Premlall until last weekend and that’s only for golfers and golf fans that follow the DP World Tour. He ran away with the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship and moved from being ranked 598th in the world up to 250th with today’s OWGR updated rankings.
After firing off scores of 70-64-63-63, the South African golfer playing a Titleist ball was just a hair shy from tying one of Tiger Woods’ most prestigious records.
Yurav Premlall Nearly Ties Tiger Woods’ Margin Of Victory Record
The 2000 U.S. Open Championship is often considered Tiger Woods‘ Mona Lisa or Sistine Chapel. In difficult course conditions, but at the peak of his career, Tiger Woods absolutely clobbered the field that week and won by a record-setting 15 strokes.
That 15-stroke margin of victory is the largest in the modern era of golf (since 1948). The closest anyone else has come in the past 50 years on the PGA Tour or in a major championship to Tiger’s record was Phil Mickelson winning by 13 strokes at the Bell South Classic in 2006.
On Sunday, 22-year-old Yurav Premlall won the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship by 14-strokes. Second-place finisher Shaun Norris finished at -14 while Premlall was playing in a field of his own at -28.
For his effort, Yurav Premlall won €398,262.32 (~$469,190.85) for winning the DP World Tour event but equally as important he moved up from 598th to 250th in the OWGR (world rankings).
In total, Premlall recorded 33 birdies over the four rounds including 10 birdies in his -9 fourth round score of 63 in Spain. An absolutely unreal feat. For context, the all-time record for most birdies in a PGA Tour tournament is 34 when Sunjae Im did it at The Sentry in 2024.
In honor of his record-setting performance, the DP World Tour released this video of ever shot of his in the final round. Yurav was absolutely dialed in. He was striking the ball in a way that most golfers can only ever dream of.
When Tiger Woods set his margin of victory record at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach the conditions were obviously significantly tougher, and Tiger Woods was at the peak of his career, which makes this 14-stroke win all the more interesting.
Yurav Premlall had missed the cut in his previous start, and 2 of his 4 previous starts. He has played in 29 DP World Tour tournaments and this was his first win. Prior to this win, he had earned a total of €443,991.58. It is almost as if he trapped lightning in a bottle for this tournament.
By winning this tournament, Yurav moved up 131 spots on the DP World Tour’s ‘Race to Dubai’ rankings, Europe’s version of the ‘FedEx Cup Standings.’ He now sits in 26th place with a solid shot at making Dubai later this season.