Joakim Lagergren holed out from the bunker to make eagle on the 72nd hole and seal a one-stroke victory at the Irish Challenge at The K Club.
The Swede entered the final round one-shot off the lead but after carding a four under par round of 68, he climbed to the top of the leaderboard on 16 under and finished one ahead of Frenchman Sébastien Gros in second place.
The 32-year-old made a single birdie on the front nine to make the turn at one under, before two birdies, a bogey and a closing eagle coming in saw him triumph in County Kildare, ten years after his first Challenge Tour victory at the Northern Ireland Open.
“It feels unbelievable right now,” he said. “It’s so tough to win golf tournaments and I came close last week when I was runner-up so to get it done here feels amazing.
“It was a pretty tough bunker shot playing downwind, but I managed to execute it perfectly. To see it drop in was special.
“This win means a lot to me because I’ve been playing on the DP World Tour for 12 years and I lost my card last year after a lot of injuries. I really want to get back to the DP World Tour and to get promoted at the end of the season would mean the world to me.
“The crowd is amazing in Ireland. I love coming back to this country and the fans love their golf and I really enjoy being here. I’m looking forward to celebrating tonight.”
Mark Power finished as the leading Irishman in a share of 11th and therefore secured the Christy O’Connor Jnr Memorial Trophy. The 24-year-old has also earnt a spot in the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down later this year and he was honoured to add his name to the trophy named after the former Ryder Cup player.
“This is huge for me, and I’m delighted to receive the award and book my place at Royal County Down,” he said. “My first professional event was actually the Irish Open at The K Club last year and there couldn’t have been a bigger event for me to play in as an Irishman.
“As soon as that week was so over I told myself that I needed to play in the Irish Open again and I can’t wait to tee it up at Royal County Down later this year.”
Englishman Brandon Robinson Thompson finished third on 13 under par, while Scotland’s Ryan Lumsden was a shot further back in fourth. Swede Björn Åkesson finished in fifth position on ten under, one-shot ahead of England’s Jack Senior and South African Wilco Nienaber in sixth.
Lagergren catapults 24 places into sixth position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings on 662 points, while Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen remains in pole position on 1,077 points.
The Road to Mallorca heads to Scotland for the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by the R&A, taking place at Newmachar Golf Club from August 8-11.
