Robert Moran had a chance to climb into the top five on the Alps Tour Order of Merit ahead of next week’s tour finale, but a two-under final round of 68 saw him finish in a four-way tie for fifth at the Memorial Giorgio Bordoni in Italy.
Rounds of 64 and 66 left Moran in sole possession of second place and two off the lead going into the final round of the penultimate event on the Alps Tour schedule, but the gap had grown to five by the time he walked off the fifth green with Moran having made two bogeys and one birdie while leader Andrea Romano had played the five in two-under.
The Castle man regrouped to card birdies on eight, 10, 15 and 17, with one more bogey coming on the 13th, but the resulting two-under round of 68 and -12 tally was disappointing on a day where only one other player in the final top 12 failed to shoot 67 or lower.
Romano secured a two-stroke win that lifted him from second to the top of the Order of Merit, though with three victories already secured in 2026 – this was his fourth – he’d already secured promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour for 2027.
That leaves four additional Order of Merit positions up for grabs, and Moran, who entered the week ranked seventh, climbed one place to sixth but he’ll need to win the season-ending Grand Final at Hulencourt in Belgium to guarantee that he’ll climb into the top five places.
A high-placed finish could be enough, but he’d be relying on help from others, so he’ll be gunning for all-out glory.
Hugh Foley was the only other Irishman to make the cut at GC La Pinetina in Como, and he closed out the week with a level-par round to finish tied for 45th at -3.
Foley is among the 48 players who’ll tee it up next week, as is Sam Murphy who missed the cut in Italy but has a slim mathematical chance of pushing his way into the top five should he bookend the year with victories – he won on his professional debut at the season-opening Elin Bay Open back in February – but he would need a lot of help from those above him in the rankings as he currently lies 15th.
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