Espen Kofstad wins the European Challenge Tour Rankings
Espen Kofstad finished his 2012 golf campaign as the European Challenge Tour Number One, after clinching a hard-fought victory at the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, on Saturday, October 27, 2012.
The Norwegian carded a four-under par 67 in the final round to take home his second Challenge Tour title of the season.
Dane Joachim B Hansen, who led the field most of the day, finished tied for the second position with James Busby, with an 18-under par overall score.
Hansen was in a pole position, entering the last six holes of the tournament. However, a double bogey on the 13th hole provided Kofstad a chance to make a charge to the top.
He then tried to make a comeback with a birdie on the 15th hole. However, it was not enough to challenge Kofstad, who finished with a 19-under par score.
Kofstad started off the week standing at the 11th place in the rankings. He recorded 24 birdies against five bogeys to become the only Norwegian to win the European Challenge Tour Number One title.
Taking to the media in a post-tournament press conference, he expressed his wish to play more tournaments in Italy.
The reason behind his statement was quite obvious. His first victory at the Doubletree by Hilton Acaya Open also came in Puglia, a place that is just a one-hour drive from San Domenico Golf course.
According to him, his performance in the last two rounds was phenomenal, as he did not concede a single bogey over the last 38 holes that he played.
“It’s amazing. Those last two rounds are probably the best I’ve ever played,” he said. “I didn’t make a bogey in 36 holes. I felt like I was in complete control of everything, despite the pressure I was under”.
He added, “I didn’t know about the Rankings until I finished, but I’ve tried not to think about it over the last few days. I knew what would happen was up to me, not anyone else”.
“At the start of the season my coach and I decided the target would be three wins and a place in the top ten. I’ve only won twice, but I’ll take it”.
Busby, in the meantime, was no doubt the happiest person in the field at the end of the tournament. He made it into the tournament after clinching the 45th spot in the rankings – the last player to qualify.
In the final round, he displayed a flawless game and carded a five-under par 66 to take the share of the second place.
As a result, he found himself moved from the 45th place to the 16th position in the European Challenge Tour Rankings, which awarded him a berth in the 2013 European Tour season.
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