Dundalk & Maynooth University’s Caolan Rafferty followed up his West of Ireland win at Rosses point last Sunday with an outright fourth place finish at the European Nations Championship in Sotogrande.
Rafferty began the final day six shots behind England’s Tom Sloman and despite the Maynooth scholar’s best efforts to wear down the leader, his one-over par 73 fell two shots shy of the winning mark.
Kilkenny’s Mark Power, Portmarnock’s Conor Purcell and Naas’ Rob Brazill were the other three competing Irish stars as the quartet led Ireland into a tied third podium finish in the team standings.
In the individual competition, Australian Amateur Champion Purcell was next best of the Irish after signing off on his tournament bid with a two-over par 74 that saw him grab a share of 11th at plus-10.
Kilkenny’s Power retuned a five-over par 77 to sneak a top-25 finish while Brazill, who fired three rounds of 80, 79 and 80 over a forgetful first three days, found new life on day four to card the low-round of the tournament, a three-under par 69 to sign off in style.
John White accompanied the team which is supported by Sport Ireland and Sport NI as part of the GUI’s High Performance Programme.
Leave a comment