John Murphy had to settle for a T4 finish at the Winter Series Marbella event at Rio Real Golf Club after taking a one-stroke lead into the final round.
The Kinsale man shot rounds of 67 and 66 to post -11 after two rounds and put himself in pole position for a confidence-boosting victory, but two early bogeys saw him surrender the lead and though he battled back to regain a share of it with two birdies to close out the front nine, three more bogeys over the first five holes on the back nine left him too much work to do.
A birdie on 16 was some consolation, but he ended up sharing fourth place at -9, three shots behind winner and final-round playing partner, Frederik Birkelund of Austria.
James Sugrue was next best of the Irish, finishing tied for 14th at +5 as he tunes up for a maiden HotelPlanner Tour campaign, while Robert Moran and Luke O’Neill were a shot and two shots further back respectively.
Leave a comment