What happened to Jorge Campillo? Exploring the Spanish golfer’s 2023 Qatar Masters outing and finish

Jorge Campillo finished as runner-up in the 2023 Qatar Masters after losing to Sami Valimaki in the playoff. However, Campillo played at a very high level, recovering from complicated situations and only losing on his last shot.

The Spaniard returned to competition after a 3-under 69 in the first round to finish T24. A second round of 65 and a third round of 66 took him to the top of the leaderboard.

However, the competition saved the best for last: the title fight between Jorge Campillo and Sami Valimaki. The Finn began the fourth round in second place, one stroke ahead of the Spaniard.

Jorge Campillo's fourth round was not as good as the previous two. He finished the front nine in 35 strokes, with a bogey on the 6th and consecutive birdies on the 7th and 8th.

At that point, Jorge Campillo was still one shot ahead of Valimaki, but the Finn started the back nine strong. He birdied the 11th and 12th to take the lead.

Campillo was unable to keep up with the pace and only made par between the 10th and 15th holes. To make matters worse, the Spaniard bogeyed the 16th hole, resulting in the loss of the tie he had brought from the previous round, which Valimaki had also bogeyed.

The Finn piled on the pressure with a birdie on the 17th. But Campillo responded like a great player and birdied the 18th to take the lead and force a playoff.

Jorge Campillo (Image via Getty).

How was the playoff between Jorge Campillo and Sami Valimaki at the 2023 Qatar Masters?

The playoff between Sami Valimaki and Jorge Campillo took place on the 18th hole. Both players were neck-to-neck on the green. Campillo missed his birdie putt, leaving the door open for the Finn to sink his and claim the Qatar Masters title.

Despite the loss, Campillo put in a solid performance with 23 birdies and five bogeys for an 18-under 270 total.

The Qatar Masters was an excellent showcase for Campillo's 2023 season. In the current season, the Spaniard has played in 24 events, made 18 cuts, won once and finished in the top 10 five times on the DP World Tour.

These results place him 12th in the Race To Dubai standings with 1,821.42 points. Campillo is also ranked 143rd in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

The 37-year-old Spaniard has played professionally for 15 seasons, 11 of them on the DP World Tour. At this level, he has three wins, 26 top 10s, and 232 cuts in 353 tournaments played.

His earnings have totaled €8.9 million ($9.4 million). Prior to that, Campillo had an outstanding amateur career. He played collegiately in the United States for Indiana University. Among his major amateur accomplishments are nine intercollegiate titles.