Richard McEvoy became the first player in eight years to follow up a European Challenge Tour win with victory on the European Tour the following week.
The 39 year old birdied his final hole at the Porsche European Open to claim an emotional maiden European Tour title at the 285thattempt, just a week after securing his third Challenge Tour title at Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge.
Austria’s Martin Wiegele was the last player to complete a similar feat when he won the Kärnten Golf Open by Markus Brier Foundation on the Challenge Tour before he triumphed at the SAINT-OMER OPEN presented by Neuflize OBC in 2010.
The Englishman is a six-time Qualifying School and two-time Challenge Tour graduate, plus a three-time winner on Europe’s top development tour. Now, he can call himself a European Tour champion after a closing 73 at Green Eagle Golf Courses handed him an 11 under par total and a one-shot victory over local amateur Allen John, Swede Christofer Blomstrand and Italian Renato Paratore.
McEvoy held a two-shot lead on the front nine and for much of Sunday afternoon was battling it out with playing partner and joint overnight leader Bryson DeChambeau.
Back-to-back bogeys from McEvoy on the 12th and 13th had the American in the lead but DeChambeau dropped five shots in his last four holes to fall back.
A McEvoy birdie on the 15th edged him back in front but John was already in the clubhouse at ten under as the deaf amateur – who rejoined the unpaid ranks in 2016 after turning professional in 2011 – produced one of the stories of the week with a closing 67.
Blomstrand and Paratore both birdied the last for rounds of 68 and 70 respectively to join John and when McEvoy bogeyed the 17th, there was a four-way tie for the lead.
A lay-up on the last left McEvoy 20 feet up the hill for victory and nerves of steel saw him sink the right-to-lefter for a remarkable victory.
“It's incredible,” he said. “I've waited a long time, 17 years as a pro on and off the Tour. I'm absolutely over the moon. A lot of hard work, a lot of bad years, a lot of good years but it's never quite happened and it was my time on that 18th green.
“I fought hard, I believed, and even at the last I overpowered my caddie to lay it up to give myself the best opportunity to make birdie and I managed to do it.
“I've tried to enjoy my golf as much as possible. Not that I haven't been but I just needed to that little bit more and it's just come up proper trumps.
“It started a couple of weeks ago, I played a pro-am at Queenwood and shot 64 – a course record – and beat the likes of Rory, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and a few other boys and that was the start of the confidence kick, really. Last week was obviously another boost to the confidence and I've come good again this week.”
