Gary Hurley fired a final round of 70 at the Hainan Open to book his spot in the Road to Mallorca Grand Final in two weeks.
It was a week of what might have been for Hurley who had a triple bogey and quintuple bogey throughout his 72 holes but he ended the week in a share of 15th place on twelve-under-par, seven shots adrift of Hamish Brown.
Hurley will move to 38th in the order of merit rankings, with one regular event to play before the top-45 advance to the Grand Final.
Jonathan Caldwell also boosted his hopes of joining Hurley and Conor Purcell in Mallorca with a final round of 69 for an eleven-under total which moves him from 72nd to 65th but he will need a win next week.
Brown secured his second Challenge Tour title when he came out on top against Lloyd Jefferson Go of the Philippines with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
The Dane’s crucial birdie on the final hole in regulation play ensured the tournament would go into extra time after Go – who was holding the lead at 20-under with four holes to play – bogeyed 15 and could only par his last three holes.
“It feels unbelievable,” he said. “I managed to win in a country that’s so far away from Denmark. It’s very humid, with different cultures and I somehow played good golf during it.”
Brown entered the final round three shots off the pace in a share of fourth place and made a fast start with an opening birdie. The 25-year-old followed up with a pair of birdies on six and seven to turn in 33.
He picked up two more shots on the 12th and 14th holes before a birdie on 18 extended his battle with Go, which he admitted was won without much pressure at the Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club.
“I was thinking, I already had a good week and if I finished solo second, it’ll still be good. I’m not very good with the heat and somehow I got into the playoff and the rest is history,” said Brown.
“The last hour went by so fast. I didn’t know where I was (on the leaderboard) until 18 where I thought a birdie would give me something. I’m pleased I managed to keep the bogeys off the card today. I haven’t done that this week until today and that annoyed me a little bit.”
Brown remains in third place in the Road to Mallorca Rankings. With two Challenge Tour wins this season, the Dane is now hoping to win a third and end his season with a flourish.
“I want to get another one but I know I got to play some good golf to do that. I’m looking forward to next week and see if I can do that,” said Brown.
The Road to Mallorca remains in China for the Hangzhou Open at Hangzhou West Lake Golf Club, the second of back-to-back events in the Middle Kingdom.
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