Robin Dawson heads for Irish shores tonight and.turns his attention to the Stone Irish Challenge which takes place at Headfort this week having struggled to match his early week form at the Lalla Aicha Challenge.
Dawson opened the week in Morocco with a stunning 64 to lead after the first round but subsequent rounds of 79, 73 and a final round 73 saw him drop down the leaderboard and finish in a tie for 50th place on three-over par, 18 shots adrift of winner Oliver Farr who carded a scintillating nine under par final round of 63 to produce a stunning comeback and win his third European Challenge Tour title at the Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour.
The Welshman started the day four shots behind overnight leaders Jack Senior and Joel Sjöholm but soon charged up the leaderboard with three consecutive birdies from the third hole, picking up two further shots on the seventh and eighth to reach the turn in just 31 strokes.
Looking to secure his first victory since the 2017 Foshan Open, the 31-year-old kept his foot firmly on the pedal, posting four further birdies over his back nine, including on the 18th, to finish on 15 under par and record a three-shot victory over Englishman Senior, who finished in second place at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.
It was an emotional win for Farr, who has played only 11 Challenge Tour events this season after a busy and difficult year away from the course.
“It’s been a hard year for me and my family, so to get this win is extra special not just for me but for everyone back home,” he said.
“If I’m honest, I didn’t really think about winning when I went to bed last night, so to come back on top today was brilliant. To shoot nine under par on any course is amazing. I left myself in some tricky places today, but my putter felt really good and I holed a couple of really nice ones along the way as well which always helps.
“It is my third victory now on the Challenge Tour and it’s always great to win no matter where you are on the Rankings. I’ve only got three events left now so I’ve still got to play great and hopefully I can continue this form until the end of the season. I always feel like I can win tournaments but as the year goes on you start to question whether you can, so to get this win just feels great.”
Senior settled for second place after a closing two under par round of 70, but cemented his place in the all-important top 15 in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, moving up seven spots into fourth position. He finished one shot clear of 20-year-old Dane Oliver Hundebøll, who finished on 11 under par after a stunning six under par 66 on Sunday to record the best result of his young career.
With his win, Farr moves from 37th to 13th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings as he eyes his third promotion onto the European Tour, following successful Challenge Tour campaigns in 2014 and 2017.
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