Sebastian Heisele claimed his maiden European Challenge Tour title in style, producing a closing 65 to win the Open de Bretagne at Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val-André.
The German started the day with a one-shot lead and played nerveless golf throughout, carding six birdies, including five over his closing nine holes, to finish the week on 13 under par, two shots clear of his nearest challenger Josh Geary.
New Zealander Geary, playing two groups ahead of Heisele, briefly took the lead with an eagle on the 11th hole but the 31-year-old duly responded with birdies on the 10th, 11th and 13th and despite a dropped shot on the 14th hole he would stand on the 18th tee needing just a par to secure his first Challenge Tour victory.
He made no mistake, hitting his approach to within a foot of the cup to ensure a tap in was all that was required to be crowned the 2019 Open de Bretagne champion.
‘’It’s feels fantastic to win,’’ Heisele said. ‘’Hitting it to a foot on the final hole may well be the easiest way to close out a tournament. It’s a tricky pin there and to have a footer to close it all out was a good way to finish.
‘’I just tried to keep my composure and plod along. I didn’t have too many birdie opportunities on the front nine, other than at the first, but then had a really strong back nine to close it out and get the win.’’
‘’This is a big confidence boost for me. I’m not exactly sure what this will mean for the rankings but will certainly make things a lot easier going forwards and should now mean that China and the Grand Final are now in the books, so I’m looking forward to what the rest of the season will bring.’’
Josh Geary finished alone in second place on 11 under after closing his week with a six under par round of 64, with Englishman Jonathan Thomson posting a spectacular five under par 65 on Sunday to sit two shots further back.
Local hopeful Damien Perrier, who drew big crowds throughout the week, would finish in a tie for fourth, alongside compatriot Robin Sciot-Siegrist, Spain’s Santiago Tarrio Ben and Austrian Martin Wiegele.
The win moves Heisele up 54 places in the Road to Mallorca Rankings into 32nd, with Josh Geary jumping into 12th as he eyes one of the 15 European Tour cards up for grabs following the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final.
The Challenge Tour will now head to Portugal for the Open de Portugal @ Morgado Golf Resort which gets under way from September 12-15.
