Conor Purcell clinched his second Challenge Tour victory of the season, delivering a solid final-round performance of four under par 67 to claim the inaugural Hangzhou Open by four strokes on Sunday.
The Irishman held off a field that included Spain’s Angel Ayora, England’s Jack Senior, and Finland’s Oliver Lindell, who tied for second place after rounds of 69.
Local player Zhou Yanhan put in an impressive showing with a 64, sharing fifth place with Sweden’s Niklas Lemke and France’s Felix Mory.
Purcell, 27, began the day tied for the lead and played steady golf, carding six consecutive pars before lighting up the scorecard with a trio of birdies from the seventh hole at the West Lake International Golf and Country Club.
Although he stumbled with two bogeys on the 11th and 13th holes, Purcell regained his rhythm, finishing strong with three birdies over the final four holes to secure a winning total of 18 under par 266.
“It’s an amazing feeling. Getting the first one was special in front of the home crowd. And I couldn’t have asked for a better second one with so many people watching in what has been an amazing event,” said Purcell, who won his maiden Challenge Tour title at the Black Desert NI Open presented by Tom McKibbin in July.
“It was a nervous start where I just made lots of pars before I got a few birdies towards the end of the front nine. I got a bit slow again on the back nine, made a few mistakes but got myself back in the mindset of making birdies and thankfully a few dropped,” he added.
Purcell’s victory propels him to fourth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, nearly guaranteeing his promotion to the DP World Tour with only the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final left on the calendar.
“It’s nice to win one of the elevated events before the grand finals 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.
