Gary Hurley closed with a five-under 67 to finish tied for third in the HotelPlanner Tour’s Challenge de Catalunya but the Waterford man had victory in his sights with nine holes to go.
An eight-under 64 on moving day catapulted him up the leaderboard and he went into the final day in sixth place and three off the lead, and he kept his momentum rolling into round four as he made birdies on two, four, five, eight and nine to make the turn at five-under and tied for the lead.
A bogey on the par-5 10th killed his momentum, however, and though he managed to get that shot back by birdieing the 12th, a string of pars over the closing six saw him end the week on 20-under but come up two shots shy at the end of regulation play.
The result lifts him 20 places to 16th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, and he’s got his sights firmly set on earning promotion back to the DP World Tour for 2027.
Liam Nolan shot a closing, bogey-free 66 to climb into a share of 34th at -12, one shot ahead of Max Kennedy who made six birdies and four bogeys in a round of 70 for a T37 finish.
But the week belonged to home favourite Pablo Ereno after
The 22-year-old Spaniard birdied the last for a six-under round of 66 to force the play-off with Brown, the overnight leader who signed for a 68 to also finish on -22.
Both players birdied the first extra-hole, before Ereno bettered Brown’s bogey on the second with a par to join the HotelPlanner Tour winners’ circle.
Ereno climbs to second place in the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings and he was delighted to come out on top as he looks to earn promotion to the DP World Tour.
“It feels great,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier to get my first HotelPlanner Tour win at home in Spain, it feels awesome.
“It makes it very special that I had my sister and my dad out here, a bunch of my friends too. I feel like I played a little bit better for them today.
“I knew we would have to shoot low today to win. I started well but made a couple of mistakes, a couple of bogeys and a double, every time I made a mistake I just tried to make birdies again.”
Ereno, who double bogeyed the par three eighth amongst six
“Bryce (Easton) and Hamish played incredible today it was really competitive out there and I was glad to make it to the play-off, it was really fun.”
Ereno is on his rookie season on the HotelPlanner Tour, and had already impressed in the opening six events of the season.
“I’ve been playing pretty good this season, I have been practising really hard and the experiences I’ve had already helped me out there today.
“The Jonsson Workwear Durban Open hurt me, as I was tied for the lead with two to play and made a quadruple bogey on 17. I managed to stay patient today which helped me make those birdies at the end.
“I have been learning a lot about my game, which is what is important, as it will help me play better and hopefully play on the DP World Tour soon.”
South African MJ Daffue and Englishman Frank Kennedy shared third with Hurley, with Sweden’s Adam Wallin, Denmark’s Jacob Worm Agerschou and South Africa’s Bryce Easton tied for sixth a shot behind.
Daffue remains in first place on the Road to Mallorca rankings, with Ereno climbing to second, ahead of England’s Will Enefer in third, ahead of South African duo MJ Viljoen and Deon Germishuys in fourth and fifth respectively.
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