Chris Paisley wins English Challenge as his maiden Challenge Tour title
England’s Chris Paisley took the Challenge Tour’s English Challenge title home after he posted a one-under par 71 in the final round for a 16-under par tournament score on Sunday, July 29, 2012.
He started of his final round with a two stroke margin over Stuart Manley, who tied for the 14th position in the end after posting a six-over par 78.
Paisley recorded five birdies against two bogeys through the first 16 holes to extend his lead to four strokes over Francis McGuirk, who reached 14-under par tournament score with an eagle on the 16th hole.
McGuirk then parred each of the final two holes in regulation. Meanwhile, Paisley bogeyed the same holes and decreased his lead to two strokes.
However, it did not affect his position on top of the leaderboard and he left the field delightedly. With this victory, he also moved to the sixth position in the Challenge Tour Rankings.
“I'm overjoyed, obviously,” said Paisley. “It’s a relief too. It probably looked quite straightforward on the leaderboard because I was quite a bit ahead most of the day, but it was tough to be honest. I wasn’t at my best so I was grinding for pars a lot
of the time. I managed to take advantage of the holes that I did play well at, but I'm really happy to get my first win”.
According to him, he was a little nervous because of the pressure he had of his then expected first win of the career.
“I was nervous the whole way around but I got a steady start and it did give me a bit of confidence to roll a 12 footer in on the third. But the nerves stayed there until the end because of the way I was grinding,” he added.
Meanwhile, McGuirk seemed a little disappointed because of his overall performance on the final day. He recorded two eagles during the day along with three birdies.
However, a couple of double bogeys in the round spoiled his chances of a win completely and he only managed a two-under par score.
Espen Kofstad took the third spot after a 12-under par overall score. Nick Dougherty was further a stroke back on the fourth place.
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