Adam Blomme held his nerve to secure a dramatic maiden Challenge Tour win on the first play-off hole in the Swiss Challenge at Golf Saint Apollinaire.
The Swede saved his best round of the week for the final day, carding a six under par 66 to move to 17 under following rounds of 67-69-69.
The 27-year-old shared the lead with countryman Jesper Svensson, with the duo returning to the 18th tee to decide a winner. Blomme would go on to bogey the first play-off hole, but with Svensson finding trouble off the tee, it would be enough to clinch a first professional win.
“It's amazing to finally do it,” he said. “There are hundreds of players on the Challenge Tour that are playing for that one spot, that first place, and it's so satisfying to do it.
“I saw Jesper make a ton of birdies on the board all day, so I knew I had to make as many birdies as possible without getting too greedy.
“It was difficult playing against Jesper, honestly. It feels good to either win or lose against your best friend though. I hit a really bad tee shot, and then to see him struggle too on that play-off was tough. At the end we were both just trying to do our best.”
Blomme, Svensson and American Julian Suri were all in contention on a low-scoring final day in Folgensbourg. With Blomme and Suri tied at the top, Svensson came roaring into contention with four birdies in seven holes on the back nine. When Suri bogeyed the 16th, that left just Blomme and Svensson in with a chance.
Blomme led going down the final hole but a second bogey of the day saw him join Svensson on 17 under par, before Blomme made sure of a memorable win on the first play-off hole.
The Swede climbs to third in the Road to Mallorca Rankings and all-but secures his promotion to the DP World Tour following an outstanding season. He was delighted to claim a first win and is now looking to achieve a goal he set himself at the beginning of the season.
“My goal since South Africa has been to finish in the top five, so it feels like I'm getting closer to achieving that which is nice. It just feels amazing.”
Suri finished in solo third on 16 under par with four players sharing fourth on 13 under par including Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen from Denmark, Spaniard Ivan Cantero, Italian Andrea Pavan and Frenchman Pierre Pineau.
Frenchman Ugo Coussaud remains at the top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings. Svensson’s second place finish sees him climb to fifth, with Pavan moving up one place to sixth. Suri’s now sits in 22nd on the Rankings with three events of the season remaining.
The Road to Mallorca takes a week off before it returns for the Hopps Open de Provence at Golf International de Pont Royal in France from October 5-8.
