Staff WriterNicolai von Dellingshausen has spent the better part of a decade knocking on the door of the DP World Tour.
Today at Golf Club Gut Altentann, he didn’t just knock—he kicked it open. With a final round 65, the German sealed his maiden title at the Austrian Alpine Open by two strokes, ending the wait on his 110th start in style.
A Day that Demanded Nerve
Von Dellingshausen started the day one behind his good friend Marcel Schneider—no easy task when you’re trying to keep the nerves steady and the putter hot.
But two straight birdies at the third and fourth holes set the tone early, and when Schneider wobbled with an opening bogey, it was all the invitation Nicolai needed.
He dropped a shot at the sixth, but there was no panic in his game. A birdie at the eighth and an eagle on the ninth had him making the turn at four under, and you could feel the momentum shift as he surged to 19 under par for the tournament.
A Par Parade to Glory
The back nine was all about discipline and holding fast—Von Dellingshausen carded a birdie at the tenth and then rattled off a string of pars that would have made Ben Hogan proud.
It wasn’t flashy, but it was enough to keep him clear of Schneider and Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan, who were charging hard behind him.
Reitan’s Round of the Year
Speaking of Reitan—he came within a whisker of writing himself into the history books. After shooting a front-nine 29, the Norwegian was a single putt away from joining the 59 club on the DP World Tour.
His eagle putt at the last just missed low, but a tap-in birdie gave him a round of 60—the first on the Tour since November 2023 and a share of second place.
It was the sort of day that reminds you how cruel and glorious golf can be in the same breath—Reitan played one of the best rounds of the season, but Von Dellingshausen’s steady march was enough to keep him on top.
Kristoffer Reitan: “(59) was in the back of my mind, but I was trying to make as many birdies as possible, play the course as well as I could. Once I was in the fairway on the last, that’s when I knew that I had a shot at it. Just a little bit gutted about the putt, that I read that one wrong, but I’ll take 60, that’s fine.”
Winther’s Steady Week
Denmark’s Jeff Winther put together a one under 69 to finish fourth—his best showing so far in the 2025 Race to Dubai.
Solid, workmanlike, and a clear sign that he’s finding his form as the summer stretches on.
A Long Time Coming
For Von Dellingshausen, today was about more than just a trophy—it was about a weight lifted and a door finally opened.
“On my 110th start,” he must have thought, “why not now?” And with that, the 32-year-old showed that in golf, the journey might be long, but the payoff is always worth it when you finally get there.
Nicolai von Dellingshausen: “ I was hitting good golf shots; I never felt like it would go out of my hands, to be honest. I was hitting the numbers I wanted, the shots I wanted. If things got a little tough here and there, I saved pars, made some nice putts along the way. Just happy overall.
“(After the par on 16) After that I said ‘now it’s mine, there’s nothing going wrong’. I saw the lie in the bunker and I was like ‘oh my god’, I hoped I would get it over the second bunker, then hitting the wedge to 15 feet, whatever it was. Seeing the ball dropping was the momentum I needed for the last two holes.
“It’s very, very satisfying. It’s something I’ve been waiting for for a long, long, long time, to win again. I came close on the DP World Tour twice, on the Challenge Tour as well. To win on the big stage now is just something that’s unbelievably relieving and it makes every step along the way worth it.”
Sunday was Special
So, was it worth tuning in for the final day? Absolutely. Between Von Dellingshausen’s breakthrough, Reitan’s near-59, and a course that never gives up anything for free, it was the sort of Sunday you hope for in this game.
Don’t be surprised if you hear more from Nicolai in the coming weeks—he’s finally shown he knows how to finish.
