On a day that year on year serves up drama by the handful, there was one man whose fists were pumping harder than most come the 108th green of the Qualifying School Final Stage, with a certain Texas-based Frenchman set to embark on a maiden season on The European Tour as a result.
With his career teetering on a knife edge, and just ten feet standing between him and the birdie that would assure him of a rookie Race to Dubai campaign, Cyril Bouniol showed the gastro-intestinal fortitude of a seasoned veteran to claim the 27th and last card on offer at PGA Catalunya Resort.
Only 45 minutes earlier, the man who finished 19th on the European Challenge Tour Rankings one week prior had looked assured of an invitation to dine at golf’s top table, only for a bogey-double bogey run from the 16th hole to seemingly derail his aspirations.
The 27 year old showed huge heart to bounce back from that disappointment though, hitting a picture perfect drive, before a pin-point approach that eventually yielded that all-important three.
It was a microcosm of a tournament at the end of a season that summed up the fine margins by which we all operate within this oft thrilling sport, and at the end of it, the realisation that a young man’s dream had finally become a reality.
“This is what I have fought so hard for all year,” said Bouniol, who recorded seven top five finishes on the second tier in 2014, including a third place at the Norwegian Challenge. “It was great to see all my buddies (from France) get their card in Dubai, but at the same time it was tough, as I had put myself in good positions all year and to come up just short of that goal was a terrible feeling.
“Coming into the week at Q-School I knew I needed to use that experience to make me stronger and get my card that way, so I could then go and have fun on The European Tour next year. To make it happen in that final round, especially after the bogey at the 16th and the double at the 17th, it is just incredible. I’m speechless.
“The double on 17th could have been way worse – first I hit my drive left, then the provisional went the same way, before my third went right. It turned out that the second one had gone out of bounds, but I found the first and had to take an unplayable drop that was still in the trees. I chipped out from there and then found the green, before leaving my 35 foot putt right in the jaws – now that’s how you make a double bogey.
“The 18th was a dream come true though, and it’s why I have travelled every week, and this year has been tough on me living in the US and not being able to take many weeks off. I’ve been playing my heart out all year just to get on The European Tour, and it was slipping away tournament after tournament, so I’m just glad to have walked onto the 18th and believed in myself – ‘You’re good, this has to happen at some point, so make that birdie!
“It is huge to make that putt as I could have parred the last three and made it by a couple or so, but to do it this way – on a difficult 18th. To hit a good drive after the hole before, then hit it that close and hit a good putt, it proves so much to myself and will be great moving forward and starting on The European Tour. I’m just so excited.”
Life for the Challenge Tour professional is not always the easiest, but for the recently married Bouniol, time away from home has been a little harder this season.
Just this past September he tied the knot with his college sweetheart Sharlotte, having met while at the Abilene Christian University, where they now make their home. Weeks spent across this side of the Atlantic can certainly take their toll, but at the end of a year in which his life has changed no end, he is excited to have finally done what was required of him when it mattered – and in front of his parents, no less.
“My wife had looked at flights to come see me play in the final round at Q-School, but to have my parents and their friends there was great,” said Bouniol. "They have been great support, and I’m thankful to have parents that have sacrificed so much for me, and pushed me to go to the US. They have always done everything for me, and to realise my dream in front of them is incredible. I owe them so much and for them to be here and see me do that, it’s awesome.
“It’s been a stressful period, as I have not made it the easy way. It has been an incredible year for me, and I knew at the start it would be a special one in both my professional and personal life. Everything just clicked in that final round and it’s great.”
So at the end of a season in which so much has changed, there’s only one way Bouniol could remember this most recent campaign: “The best of both worlds, that’s how 2014 will be remembered, for sure.”
