Paul McBride dropped three shots in his last four holes as he came up just short at the Aravell Golf Open on the Alps Tour.
McBride double bogeyed the par-3 15th hole and bogeyed the par-3 17th as Italy’s Manfredi Manici birdied 15, 16 and 17 to win by the minimum on fifteen-under-par.
The back nine has been McBride’s friend this week and it seemed to be again as he carded three birdies in a row on 11, 12 and 13 to assume control of proceedings in the final round but a faltering finish meant he was forced to settle for second place on fourteen-under after a closing 69.
The Island professional held a two shot lead heading into the final round while Manica came from the pack with a closing 66 for his maiden Alps Tour win.
“Today is a very emotional day, especially my back nine,”said the Italian. “I believe the key was to stay patient. I struggled with my putting on the first few holes but hit some great shots. Paul was playing great and I didn’t think I had a chance. On the 15thhole when I saw Paul struggled I managed to birdie and started to believe I had a chance. I went on to birdie 16 and 17 and tried to par 18th and see what happened.”
When asked about what this win means to him, he added: “This obviously means the world to me. It’s a short season so every tournament is important this season and after this win the rest will be even more important as I now want to be in the top 5 at the end of the season.”
Ronan Mullarney kept up his Order of Merit bid with a closing 66 to take 13th place on five-under with James Sugrue two shots further back after a 72.
Scoring HERE
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