Rhys Up For The Challenge As He Lands Maiden European Title After Open Disappointment

Rhys Enoch might have missed out on qualifying for The Open, but he was bang on target at the Slovakia Challenge as he celebrated his maiden European Challenge Tour title at the weekend.

The Welsh golfer fired a four-under-par final round at the Penati Golf Resort to finish at 18-under-par across the four rounds to win by one stroke from Australia’s Josh Geary in Senica.

It earned him the biggest pay day of his professional career as he pocketed more than £28,500

Having picked up five birdies in a four-under par 68 opening round, he shot 69 the next day before bagging eight birdies in a brilliant round of 65 on Saturday.

That left him in second place going into the final round on Sunday and Enoch shot another 68 round to move above leader Darius van Driel, who saw his title bid go up in smoke with a four-over-par 76 to drop down to joint eighth.

Enoch flourished as he held his nerve with six more birdies to hold off Geary.

It was the 31-year-old’s first professional win since he won the Cape Town Open on the South Africa-based Sunshine Tour 17 months ago. He also won the 2017 Boavista Classic on the Portugal Pro Golf Tour and the Bowood Championship tile on the Jamega Tour in 2012.

The victory softened the bitter blow of failing to qualify for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, in Northern Ireland, next week. Enoch had finished joint 14th in final qualifying at Notts Golf Club only two days before teeing off in Slovakia.

His level par finish over the two rounds left him five strokes off the top three qualification spots. He finished tied 67th in last year’s Open, picking up £24,250. Last month he made a spectacular debut at the US Open at Pebble Beach, carding one round of 65 as he finished 71st overall.