Starting the day three back in a tie for fifth place, James Sugrue’s hopes of a first tour win came to an end with a disappointing back nine in which the Mallow man fell from contention to post a final-round, one-under 71.
Rounds of 65 and 67 saw the 2019 Amateur Champion well positioned going into the third and final round, and despite opening with a bogey-five, he rebounded with birdies at two, five, six and nine to reach the turn at -3 for the day and -15 for the week.
Though 36-hole leader Kiet Van der Weele was distancing himself from the chasing pack, a strong back nine could’ve seen Sugrue apply serious pressure, but a bogey at 11 halted the momentum, and then three bogeys in a row from 13 through 15 killed any chances of overall glory.
To his credit, he regrouped and birdied the final two holes to post -13 for the week, finishing in an encouraging tie for 15th, his best finish since June of last year.
Ronan Mullarney began the day on -8 after back-to-back 68s, and he’d play the opening nine in level par trading one birdie with one bogey, before picking up two strokes on the back nine with three birdies and one bogey to see the Galway man end the week tied for 29th.
Netherlands’ Van der Weele was a wire-to-wire winner, closing out the week with a seven-under 65 to post -22, three strokes clear of Spain’s Jacobo Pastor in second place.
Van der Weele reeled off seven straight birdies on the front nine to solidify his position, and took no chances coming home to capture his first professional win in style.
“Today went really well,” the delighted Dutchman said. “The 7 birdies on the front nine really helped me get the round going. I felt really good and the birdies I made weren’t big putts but put me in a good mood and allowed me to play more freely. I haven’t had the opportunity to play many events as a professional having turned pro just last year but capturing my first win so early now it feels really satisfying and I’m sure it’ll benefit me later on. I did it as a team with my coaches, my management so this is definitely a team effort.”
Leave a comment