Angel Ayora held his nerve on the final day of the Rosa Challenge Tour to secure a memorable maiden Challenge Tour title in Poland.
The Spaniard, who led by two strokes going into the final day, recorded a level par round of 70 to end the week on 13 under par and win by three shots from Northern Irishman Dermot McElroy.
The 19-year-old climbs to ninth in the Road to Mallorca Rankings following his win to move closer to securing promotion to the DP World Tour in his first year as a professional.
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Ayora, who has recorded three top ten finishes this season prior to victory, was delighted to join the winner’s circle in Konopiska.
“This is my first year as pro, so to have a win is very special,” he said. “To give myself a chance to get onto the DP World Tour makes me very happy. It’s my dream to play on the DP World Tour, that’s all I can say.
“This is so good for me and for my team. I’m very proud of all the work we’ve put in to do this.”
Ayora started the day two shots clear and extended that to three with a birdie at the par five third. Despite a dropped shot on the following hole, he responded with three birdies in four holes around the turn to move six shots ahead of the chasing pack.
Brilliant approach and a confident roll from Ayora 🐦
He's into a commanding lead on the final day. #RosaChallengeTour pic.twitter.com/JojpFcDdfZ
— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) September 1, 2024
The Spaniard remained clear of the chasing pack despite dropping three shots coming home, and will follow victory by teeing it up in Switzerland next week in the Omega European Open on the DP World Tour.
“I’m going straight to Switzerland to play on the DP World Tour which will be a special week,” he added. “I’ll take a week off before coming back to play the Italian Challenge Open on the Challenge Tour to try and end the season well and get promoted.
“I was just telling myself on 18 to hit a nice tee shot, hit a nice second shot and see if I can finish it in as fewer shots as possible.
“I did feel the pressure a little bit on the back nine. I still hit good shots, and I hit good shots all week which was the main thing.”
Sweden’s Jens Fahrbring and former Dubai-based Christofer Rahm finished four shots off the lead on nine under par in third, with six players one shot further back in fifth including Italian duo Gregorio de Leo and Aron Zemmer, Frenchman Benjamin Hébert, Dane John Axelsen, Finn Oliver Lindell and German Nicolai von Dellingshausen.
The top eight places in the Road to Mallorca Rankings remain the same, with Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen from Denmark retaining his place as the Number One on 1,122 points, with Englishman John Parry 11 points behind in second. Swede Björn Åkesson climbs three places to 17th, with Norwegian Andreas Halvorsen occupying the final promotion place in 20th.
The next stop on the Road to Mallorca is the Big Green Egg German Challenge powered by VcG, taking place from September 5 to 8 at Wittelsbacher Golfclub, Neuburg an der Donau, Germany.
Main Image: Octavio Passos / Getty Images