Paul McBride showed his pedigree in the final round of the Open de Bretagne on the Challenge Tour as he fired a closing 66 to jump up to a tie for 14th.
The Island professional carded birdies on four of his first five holes in a seven birdie final day haul that earned him €3200 for the week.
Cameron Raymond closed out his week with a 67 to jump into a tie for 29th while Gavin Moynihan struggled to a 74 to finish in a tie for 59th ahead of travelling home to tee it up at this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet.
At the head of affairs, Frenchman Julien Brun ended a near nine-year wait for his second European Challenge Tour victory as he triumphed on home soil at the Open de Bretagne.
The 29-year-old carded a one under par final round of 69 to finish two strokes ahead of compatriot Jérôme Lando-Casanova, with whom he held the 54-hole lead, and American Chase Hanna.
His victory comes nine years after the 2012 Allianz Golf Open Toulouse Metropole, which he won as an amateur, and just weeks after losing out in a play-off at the D+D REAL Czech Challenge.
“I am super delighted,” he said. “It has been a long time since I won in 2012 and it’s been a long road just to be here and get the trophy and just to get it done here is very special.
“It feels very different because I went through a lot, I had some very down times and I struggled quite a bit the past few years and I started to play well again last year and this year again so to win after this long stretch, it definitely tastes better.
“There are a lot of people involved, my fiancée back home she’s a big part of it. My team, my coach, they are a big part of it as well. This win is very good for me, but it’s also for all the people that have helped me to get through this.”
The win propels Brun up to second on the Road to Mallorca Rankings and Frenchman hopes to continue the consistent run of form which has yielded five top-12 finishes in eight starts in 2021.
“The week was long, but I played very solid the first two days which got me in a good position,” he added. “Yesterday was a solid round as well and today, I started well and was very solid but then it was shaky with the mental grind and the wind switched, it was very tough out there to finish so I just kept that mental strength going and got it done.”
Chase Hanna moves to sixth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings after his fourth top ten result of the season, while Lando Casanova has climbed 30 places up to 18th.
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