A pair of late bogeys on Friday saw JC Ritchie slip out of contention in the Challenge Tour’s Challenge de España at the Iberostar Real Club de Golf Novo Sancti Petri in Cadiz, Spain, but he still managed to pull off a top-10 finish.
Ritchie had got it to five-under-par for the closing round with six birdies and a bogey, and, at 18-under, he was just one off the lead with three successive birdies behind him from 11 to 13. But bogeys on the 14th and 17th saw him drop away from the very top of the leaderboard as Spaniard Santiago Tarrio took advantage of the implosion of Frenchman Frederic Lacroix to win by one at 20-under-par.
Lacroix bogeyed both the final holes to relinquish a one-stroke lead, and he shared second with Blake Windred of Australia and Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson. Ritchie finished in a share of ninth, four shots off of the lead.
Jacques Blaauw was the next-best of the South Africans, his closing two-under-par 70 giving him a tournament total of 11-under for a share of 25th. Oliver Bekker was two shots further back in 33rd after a closing 71, while Jayden Schaper’s 71 saw him share 43rd on six-under. Bryce Easton’s two-over 74 had him down in 51st.
