A brilliant birdie-birdie finish ensured the jubilant French crowd were treated to a home victory at the Open des Volcans Challenge de France, as Ilya Goroneskoul carded a final round of four under par 67 to take the title and the €19,200 first prize.
With England’s Andrew Butterfield, Ariel Canete of Argentina and Frenchman Nicloas Joakimides all locked together on 11 under par, Goroneskoul knew he needed to conjure a magical finish to break the deadlock between the leading players, and he duly obliged with birdies at his closing two holes to lift the first Challenge Tour title of his career.
Earlier in his final round, Goroneskoul made a serious of excellent par saves, most notably on the sixth, ninth, tenth and 11th holes, and he felt as he approached the closing stages of his round that it was going to be his day.
A birdie at the par four 14th set him on the charge to victory, and he matched the unshakeable belief he had in himself with ability on the closing two holes to finish two strokes clear of the rest of the field at the Golf des Volcans.
Butterfield, Canete and Joakimides posted respective final rounds of 69, 67 and 71 to share second place and receive individual prizes of €9,200, with Denmark’s Anders S Hansen, the English pair of Ross fisher and Iain Pyman and Frenchman Julien Xanthopoulos sharing fifth place on seven under par.
“I am very happy,” smiled the 29 year old Goroneskoul. “To win in front of such a great French crowd, and with so many of my family here as well, it makes this victory very special for me.
“I played well today, although I had a few problems in the middle of the round off the tee, but that is when I made so many important par saves. A lot of my tee shots were flying all over the place but I did very well to keep my score going and then I said to myself ‘this is your day’ and I managed to finish with two great birdies to win which was very satisfying.
“I have played well all week, but because I have not played many Challenge Tour events this year I had not thought that much about winning here.
“Now I will be able to play a lot more Challenge Tour events, and it is great to be able to do that because I have been more focused on my family for the past couple of season and golf had become secondary to me. But now I can plan my schedule for the rest of the year and I am looking forward to getting back out there.”
