Daniel Hillier posted a sensational eight under par round of 64 to seal his second European Challenge Tour title at the Swiss Challenge.
The New Zealander entered the final round four shots off the lead, however after carding ten birdies and two bogeys he reached 14 under par and moved to the top of the leaderboard, two shots clear of overnight leader Jeong weon Ko who finished second on 12 under.
The 24-year-old, who won the 2021 Challenge Costa Brava, came into the week with just one top ten in his last seven Challenge Tour starts but he has now moved to 13th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings following his second victory, taking a huge step towards securing his DP World Tour card for 2023.
“That was pretty unbelievable,” he said. “I played really solid on the front nine and didn’t miss too many greens. I hit some of the best wedge shots I’ve hit in a long time and gave myself a lot of really good chances. I holed a couple of clutch putts to keep the momentum going and then managed to birdie five of my last six holes.
“It was a crazy day and I felt like I was in autopilot. I’ve been working on my short game a lot in the last couple of years and it’s something that has really let me down in the past. To be able to hole those putts under pressure today just shows I am doing some of the right things and now I just need to keep my head down and hope the wins keep coming.
“This is massive for me being towards the end of the season. I’ve moved inside the top 20 and now I’m in a strong position to get my DP World Tour card for next season. The jobs not done yet so I need to play as well as I can for the final few events.”
Sweden’s Oscar Lengden posted a four under par round of 68 to finish third on ten under par, while English trio Ben Stow, Steven Tiley and Matthew Baldwin shared fourth on nine under.
Denmark’s Martin Simonsen finished seventh on eight under, while five players shared eighth including Germany’s Alexander Knappe and Englishman Jonathan Thomson.
The Road to Mallorca now heads to Golf International de Pont Royal for the Hopps Open de Provence, taking place from September 29 – October 2.
