Michael Jonzon provided one of the stories of the week at the Porsche European Open as the fourth reserve achieved his best finish on the European Tour for seven years.
The Swede is a two-time winner on Tour but lost his card in 2013 and had to quickly board a plane on Wednesday following the withdrawal of Victor Dubuisson to even tee it up at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach.
He grabbed his opportunity with both hands, posting rounds of 66-63-68 to ensure his best position since his last win at the CASTELLÓ MASTERS Costa Azahar in 2009.
The 44 year old also moved up to 139th on the Race to Dubai, boosting his chances of regaining his playing privileges in the coming weeks, and will head into the rest of the campaign full of confidence.
"It's mixed feelings in a way because I'm really happy with tied third after the preparation I had," he said. "If someone said, 'would you take tied third?' on Wednesday when I travelled, yes, of course.
"But also, once you get to this position you play for wins. I wasn't good enough from the tee today, certainly with the irons I was so if I could have just been a little better off the tee I could have been up there.
Mostly it gives me confidence, it shows that I belong here, that I should be here. I showed that to myself - Michael Jonzon
"I'll take it, it's a positive and I said yesterday that I was going to stand proud with my effort and I certainly do that.
"Mostly it gives me confidence, it shows that I belong here, that I should be here. I showed that to myself.
"Now I get to play British Masters as a top ten. I'm in a better position than last week and if I have to go to Qualifying School it's a great experience to have going in there."
