Ireland’s Conor Purcell claimed his second Challenge Tour title of the season when he shot a final-round 67 to win the Hangzhou Open in China by four shots on Sunday.
Spain’s Angel Ayora closed with a 69 to finish tied for second with England’s Jack Senior and Finland’s Oliver Lindell, while Zhou Yanhan emerged as the highest-ranked Chinese player after carding a 64 to finish fifth.
Purcell entered the final round with a share of the lead and started his day with six straight pars. He then broke away from the chasing pack with a hat-trick of birdies starting at the 7th at West Lake International Golf & Country Club.
Purcell then left the door open for his nearest rivals to close after dropping shots on 11 and 13. However, the 27-year-old player ensured that he will easily win the title as he charged three more birdies in his closing four holes. a winning score of 18-under-par.
“It’s an amazing feeling. Getting the first one was special in front of the home crowd. “I couldn’t have asked for a better second with so many people watching at such an amazing event,” said Purcell, who won his first Challenge Tour title at the Black Desert NI Open in July.
NERVY STARTED
“It was a shaky start, where I just made a lot of pars before I got a few birdies towards the end of the ninth. I was slow again on the back nine, made a few mistakes but got back into the mindset of making birdies and thankfully a few fell. “
With his latest win in Hangzhou, Purcell jumped eight places to fourth in the Road to Mallorca Rankings where he is almost certain to secure promotion to the DP World Tour with only the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final to play.
“It’s nice to win one of the top events before the grand final so I can go on and enjoy it more,” he added.
John Parry currently leads the Challenge Tour standings, with the Dane’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Hamish Brown in second and third respectively.
The Challenge Tour Grand Final is held in Alcanada in Mallorca from October 31-November 3.
For all Hangzhou Open scores, click here.
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