Gary Hurley is on the verge of promotion to the Challenge Tour after moving up to fourth on the Alps Tour’s Order of Merit after finishing third at the Castelconturbia Alps Open.
The 29-year-old carded a six-under 66 in his final round at Golf Club Castelconturbia to briefly hold the clubhouse lead at 13-under-par, but he would eventually settle for third, two shots behind winner Ben Schmidt.
Hurley is now up to fourth in the season standings heading into the Alps Tour Championship, with only the top-five earning their Challenge Tour cards for next season.
The Saadiyat Beach-based man is 1,587.09 points ahead of fifth-placed Vince van Veen, with Italy’s Stefano Mazzoli in sixth, 1,702.98 points behind.
However, the final event – which is next week – carries a bigger prize and points fund, meaning Hurley will likely need another good finish to assure himself of promotion.
He will carry plenty of momentum into that event, though, after a strong performance in Milan, and it looked like he might be in line for a come from behind victory as at one point midway through the back nine he shared the lead at 14-under.
However, a late bogey led to a 66 that saw him settle for 13-under, which would come in two shots shy as first Van Veen overtook him at 14-under thanks to a 65, and then Schmidt did too.
The Englishman concluded his week with a five-under 67 to claim a one-shot win at 15-under-par and claim the €5,800 prize.
Meanwhile, Naas’ Jonathan Yates ended the week at seven-under-par after a final round 69.
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