Vienna, Austria – Japanese Kota Kaneko won his first title on the DB World Golf Tour, held under the slogan “The Race to Dubai”. After winning the Austrian Alpine Open presented by Kitzbühel Tirol on Sunday. To become the ninth Japanese player to win in the history of the World Tour.
Kaneko, 23, finished the competition in Kitzbühel with a total of 18 under par. After a consistent performance during the four rounds, during which he scored 65 hits in each of the first three rounds, before concluding the tournament with 67 hits in the final round.
The Japanese player collected 585 points thanks to this achievement, advancing to eleventh place in the world rankings for the “Race to Dubai” issued on Monday. With a total of 1,048 points this season, his victory also enhanced his chances of qualifying for the two final tournaments hosted by the UAE. The top 70 players in the “Race to Dubai” classification qualify for the Abu Dhabi Championship, which will be held at Yas Links during the period from 5 to 8 November 2026. The top 50 players will qualify for the DB World Tour, which will be hosted by Jumeirah Real Estate Golf Club from November 12 to 15.
Following his coronation, Kaneko said that he is looking forward to continuing to advance and achieving a second victory this season.
Portuguese Ricardo Gouveia and American Davis Bryant came in second place with 16 under par.
Gouveia has continued its positive results since winning the Abu Dhabi Challenge Championship title at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in 2023 as part of the Hotel Planner Tour. It currently ranks twenty-sixth in the “Race to Dubai” rankings with 830 points. Bryant moved up to 17th place with a total of 945 points.
The tournament constituted the twenty-first stop in the calendar of the current season, which witnesses the holding of 42 tournaments in 25 countries around the world under the slogan “The Race to Dubai”.
The Austrian Alpine Open is one of the European Series tournaments this season. The competitions will continue this week with the Dutch KLM Open being held at the International Club in Amsterdam.
