Conor Purcell’s upward trajectory in the professional ranks will take him on to the DP World Tour with a full card next season, but the 27-year-old Dubliner’s win in the Hangzhou Open in China – his second win on the Challenge Tour this year – moved him to fourth in the order of merit to further strengthen his future card status.
Purcell shot a final round 67 to win the inaugural Hangzhou Open – an elevated event on the Challenge Tour and the final regular season tournament ahead of the Rolex Grand Final in Mallorca in a fortnight’s time when the leading 20 players off the rankings earn DP World Tour cards – for a total of 18-under-par 266 to win by four strokes from Spain’s Angel Ayora and England’s Jack Senior.
A strong finish which yielded three birdies in his closing four holes enabled Purcell to power his way to victory, to go with his Black Desert NI Open win at Galgorm Castle in July.
“It’s nice to win one of the elevated events before the Grand Final so that I can go over there and enjoy a little bit more. I’m definitely going to celebrate because these wins don’t come around too often. I’m having my family over in Mallorca and really looking forward to it,” said Purcell, a son of Joey Purcell, the former longtime club professional at Portmarnock Golf Club.
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Purcell will head to Mallorca with the opportunity to become the first Irish player since Raymond Burns in 1997 to win the Challenge Tour order of merit. Two other Irish players, Dermot McElroy and Gary Hurley, have also managed to secure their places in the limited 45-man field for the Rolex Grand Final, although both have work to do to break into the top-20 on the rankings who will get full DP World Tour cards.
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