Oliver Farr dedicated his maiden European Challenge Tour win to his late grandfather after the Welshman produced a stunning birdie at the final hole to claim a two-shot victory at the Turkish Airlines Challenge.
The 26 year old carded a two under par final round 70 to finish two shots clear of a packed field after a dramatic day in which the lead exchange hands several times at National Golf Club.
The pristine parkland course in the southern Turkish resort of Belek once again provided a stern test for the players, but Farr produced the goods at crunch time to come from three shots back at the start of the day and finish top on two under par.
Despite a slow start, bogeying the first hole on the way to a level par front nine, the Shropshire man came out fighting on the back nine and, while a birdie at the par three 11th was soon followed by a bogey at the 14th, he cancelled that out straight away with a four at the par five 15th.
Then came the performance of a true champion, as he placed a perfect drive down the 18th before firing a superb approach over the greenside water hazard to five feet, tapping in for a birdie and a first Challenge Tour title in just the fourth tournament of his rookie season.
“I'm ecstatic with the win,” said Farr, who won two of the last three events to win the satellite EuroPro Tour Order of Merit last year. “They were three of the best shots of my life. It was a fantastic wedge to five feet and it’s a putt you always want to win a tournament. It’s a great feeling.
“Down the last, I made double bogey yesterday and it’s a funny tee shot. I hit driver the first two days and made birdie, hit driver yesterday and ended up in a fairway bunker and today I thought I should hit three wood but I had to commit to it and I did.
“It’s only my fourth event of the year so it’s nice to keep this winning feeling going from last year. Things didn’t really happen for me in Kenya and Catalunya and then in Madeira I only got to play one round so this felt a bit like a season-opener for me.”
Farr discovered on Tuesday that his grandfather had passed away and he was close to withdrawing in order to travel home. In the end, his win was a most fitting tribute and he admitted the emotion had spurred him on in the final day.
“It’s been a tough week for my family,” said the former Wales international amateur, who climbed 150 places to fifth in the Challenge Tour Rankings. “We lost my grandfather Malcolm on Tuesday and I wanted to go home but my parents forced me to stay, so it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions.
“I was trying to do it for him and my family, to give them something to smile about, so it’s a good feeling. He has inspired me this week to just keep going and it just puts golf into perspective.
“It was the first tournament where I felt really comfortable and then my grandfather died so it was just a strange feeling. But it’s great to win and I just have to keep going now because there is a lot of golf to be played this season.”
Third round leader Jerome Lando Casanova could not maintain the momentum gained through consecutive rounds of 71 and had to settle for a share of second place after a three over par 75.
He was joined on level par by Englishman Dave Coupland, who signed for a two over par 74, and Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl, who moved into the all-important top 15 in the Rankings after a one over par round of 73.
