Nicolai Kristensen beat Ugo Coussaud in a play-off to win his first European Challenge Tour title at the tenth edition of the D+D REAL Czech Challenge.
The Dane recorded a bogey-free round of 66 to tie Coussaud at the top of the leaderboard and sealed the victory with a birdie at the first extra hole at Golf & Spa Kunětická Hora.
Kristensen started the day two adrift of the Frenchman but birdies at the fifth, sixth, ninth and 12th holes moved him a stroke behind. Following a bogey at the 14th from Coussaud and the pair closing with pars the title would be decided by extra holes.
It was 30-year-old from Denmark who seized the opportunity, holing a 20-foot birdie putt to win his maiden title.
“I feel amazing,” he said. “It was almost a relief because I’ve been close a few times but this time I took it and I owned it.
“The win means a lot. It is a big step towards my main goal of being inside the top 20 for the season, and I know how important it is – I’m proud of myself.
“Ugo was striking the ball very well and he doesn’t miss many fairways. The wind was a bit more challenging today compared to yesterday. I knew he wouldn’t make too many bogeys out there, so I had to keep my own game plan going and I did that.
“I was climbing into his lead all the way, but he had a fantastic start. I kept telling myself ‘go get it, go get it’ and I just kept pushing myself.
“It was my first play-off, ever. We’d finished 18 before and I made a small adjustment off the tee. It was a lovely putt to finish. I hit a good nine iron, but it didn’t draw as much as I hoped, but it had a good distance, and the putt was almost straight just a touch left to right.”
Sweden’s Oscar Lengden finished in third place following a final round of 65, while Clément Berardo of France claimed fourth place at ten under par.
With his victory, Kristensen moves from 24th to third place on the Road to Mallorca Rankings with 61,361.69 points, while Coussaud rockets to 14th from 122nd position.
The Road to Mallorca now returns to Spain for the Empordà Challenge at Empordà Golf in Girona from June 9-12.
