Japanese Kaneko lifts his first Alpine title in the Race to Dubai

Kota Kaneko joined the list of champions in the DB World Tour, which is held under the slogan “Race to Dubai,” after he won his first title by winning the Austrian Alpine Open presented by Kitzbühel Tyrol, becoming the ninth Japanese player to achieve victory in the history of the World Tour.

The 23-year-old Kaneko finished the competitions, which were held in Kitzbühel, with a charming view of the Alps, with a total of 18 strokes under par, after a consistent performance throughout the four rounds of the competition, during which he achieved 65 strokes in all the first three rounds, then concluded with 67 strokes on the final day.

Thanks to this victory, Kaneko earned 585 points, advancing to 11th place in the “Race to Dubai” world rankings issued on Monday, with a total of 1,048 points this season.

Kaneko has increased his chances of qualifying for the final two tournaments held in the United Arab Emirates, where the top 70 players in the “Race to Dubai” classification will qualify for the Abu Dhabi Championship at Yas Links from November 5 to 8, 2026, and then the top 50 players will qualify for the DB World Tour Championship, which will be held at Jumeirah Estates Golf Club from November 12 to 15 as well.

“I can’t believe it, I didn’t expect to win and I’m still very surprised,” Kaneko said after his win. “I would like to thank all the fans this week; they were very supportive and helped me win this tournament. I now want to keep going and get a second win this season. I hope I can continue to play well.”

The runner-up is Portuguese Ricardo Gouveia and American Davis Bryant, who scored 16 shots under par.

Gouveia has continued his upward trajectory since winning the Abu Dhabi Challenge Championship title, which was held at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in 2023, as part of the Hotel Planner Tour, where he established himself in the DB World Tour, and is currently ranked 26th in the “Race to Dubai” classification with a total of 830 points.

For his part, Bryant advanced to 17th place in the “Race to Dubai” classification, with 945 points.

This championship represented the 21st stop in total in this season’s championships, which tour 25 countries around the world by holding 42 championships under the slogan “Race to Dubai.”

It is noteworthy that the Austrian Alpine Open Championship formed one of the “European Series” tournaments this season, which continues this week with the holding of the KLM Dutch Open Championship at the International Club in Amsterdam.