Conor Purcell held his nerve to claim a maiden Challenge Tour title in the Black Desert NI Open presented by Tom McKibbin at Galgorm Castle in Ballymena.
The 27-year-old Dubliner signed for a one over par final round of 71 to finish 13 under par for the week, one stroke clear of overnight leader Joakim Lagergren on a dramatic final day in Co Antrim.
The 27-year-old climbs to fourth in the season-long Road to Mallorca rankings with a win and was delighted to come out on top after going shot-for-shot with Lagergren across the entirety of the weekend.
“I’m over the moon and kind of lost for words,” he said. “I’ve waited a long time for this and for it to happen, with all my family out here today, is just amazing.
“The support out there calmed me down. Knowing that they were all there to support me made a difference.
“Joakim is a fierce competitor and a proven winner, and he’s won here before, so I knew not to take him lightly. I’m just pleased because I putted terribly today but I managed to get the job done.”
Purcell started the day one stoke behind Lagergren, but after mixing two birdies with five bogeys on the front nine, made the turn searching for a spark to kick-start his round.
An eagle on the par-five 10th did just that, with Purcell joining Lagergren at the top of the leaderboard, before a dropped shot at the 13th saw him one adrift with five holes to play.
Purcell then birdied the 15th, and when Lagergren bogeyed the same hole, a two-shot swing saw Purcell move into the solo lead for the first time on the final day, before he parred his way home for a memorable victory.
“I knew it was going to be tough but that there were chances on the back nine,” he added. “It was a big momentum swing when I held the putt on the 10th for eagle.
“I missed a chance on 14 to get back level, but made a nice birdie to go one ahead on 15 and then played really good golf coming in.
“On 18, it was the calmest I felt all day. After a few loose shots at the start of the day, I got into the flow of things and felt very in control and knew the job I had to do.
“Every time you can have a win, you can shoot up the rankings, but there’s still a lot of golf to play over the rest of the year.”
Englishman Jack Senior posted a three-under-par round of 67 to finish in solo third, with Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist two shots further back in fourth. Dane Hamish Brown and South African Robin Williams finished in a share of fifth on eight under par.
Purcell climbs 20 places to fourth in the Road to Mallorca rankings on 683 points, while Dane Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen remains in pole position on 1,061 points. Englishman John Parry sits second on 1,007, and Spaniard Joel Moscatel remains in third place on 870 points.
The Road to Mallorca continues next week with the Irish Challenge taking place at The K Club from August 1st-4th.
South Korea’s KJ Choi captured the first Major of his career after securing a two-stroke victory at the Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie.
Choi, 54, finished with a two-under-par 70 on the final round and ended up with a total of 10 under par to beat Australia’s Richard Green by two strokes.
Pádraig Harrington carded a level-par final round of 72 to finish in a share of fifth place alongside another six golfers, including Bernard Langer and Thomas Bjorn.
The Dubliner had finished second at the event in each of the past two years and overcame a disastrous start to the final round – a triple-bogey and a double-bogey on the first two holes – before making a spirited rally.
“Yeah, look, that’s what happens in this game,” Harrington said. “I knew I had to push today. I think even after that, the couple of eagle chances, I had three good eagle chances there. I could have slipped a few more putts in. But the good news for me is KJ has run away with it, which is a nice thing. I would hate to be finishing up today and six-under-par, seven-under-par was winning. It was would have been a disappointing day.”
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