Marcus Armitage returns to Green Eagle Golf Courses in Hamburg, Germany, to defend his 2021 title at this week’s Porsche European Open, the last of four events in the European Qualifying Series for the 2022 U.S. Open.
The 34-year-old Englishman broke through for his first DP World Tour victory last year, carding a final-round, 7-under 65 in the 54-hole event, which was shortened due to pandemic travel restrictions. Armitage started the final day four shots off the lead, and he won by two strokes with an 8-under total, beating four players: Darius Van Driel, Matthew Southgate, Edoardo Molinari and Thomas Detry. “I’ve never lost so many balls in a practice round in my life,” he admitted following the win. “To (stand) here being Porsche European Open champion is pretty cool. I’m an emotional guy, I’m struggling to keep a lid on it here. … Twenty years ago, I lost my mum and I’ve dreamt about this since that day, being a winner, and you have days where you think it might not happen, but I just stuck at it.” On the season, Armitage has made nine cuts in 11 starts with two top 10s, finishing T-9 at the Ras al Khaimah Classic in February and T-5 at the Qatar Masters in March. Most recently, he was T-31 at the Dutch Open.