Oliver Bekker wasn’t able to reproduce his superlative play which brought him a third-round 62, but a closing level-par 72 on Sunday saw him finish second in the Challenge Tour’s British Challenge Presented by Modest! Golf Management at the Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England.
It was a fighting performance from Bekker who held the 54-hole lead, but two early bogeys on the first and the third holes rocked him back on his heels as he tried to push for a maiden Challenge Tour victory. He made two more bogeys during his round, on the eighth and 13th, but he fought back with four birdies to finish on 18-under-par for the tournament, one behind the winner Hugo Leon of Chile.
His performance saw him climb to fifth on the Challenge Tour rankings. At the end of the season, the top 20 players on that list earn promotion to the European Tour. With six more regular season events before the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final in Spain on November 4, Bekker is nicely placed to be one of those 20 – and perhaps to push to top those rankings.
JC Ritchie also closed with a level-par 72 to finish in a share of 25th on 10-under for the tournament. He’s in 21st, so a couple more good results could see him also earn his European Tour playing privileges.
Hennie du Plessis’ level-par 72 closing round had him at 62nd on level-par for the week. He’s in 46th on the rankings.
