Gary Stal takes a playoff victory at the Credit Suisse Challenge
In a day full of lead changes and great shots, Frenchman Gary Stal was able to outlast his compatriot Alexandre Kaleka with a birdie on the first playoff hole of the 2012 Credit Suisse Challenge, on July 15, to claim his second win of the year on the Challenge
Tour.
On the final day, Stal carded a one-under par 70 to retain the lead while Kaleka surged atop the leaderboard with a three-under par 68.
Both the players entered the sudden death playoffs where Stal’s tee shot on the first extra hole landed perfectly on the fairway. In the meantime, Kaleka misjudged his stroke and it went around seven feet to the right in the rough.
Afterwards, Stal made his second shot and dropped on the first tier, making a difficult chance for the birdie putt.
Kaleka also had a similar situation to face, as he created a chance of a difficult downhill putt that he missed in the end. Meanwhile, Stal holed in the ball on his third shot for a birdie to take the title home.
"It's incredible to win again," said Stal. "To win in a play-off, it feels like a much bigger deal and I am just so happy. I was a little bit nervous for my second putt at the 18th to take it to a play-off so it was very pleasing to hole it. I just set my
mind on the play-off after that and just wanted to give it my all”.
Stal is currently playing his rookie year on the Challenge Tour and it has been a great experience for him so far.
He won the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda in Austria last month after a nerve-wrecking battle against England's Daniel Brooks.
This time, in Switzerland, he was once again caught in a difficult situation. However, he held his nerves and outshined his rivals with a perfect display of the game.
"I like playing in these kinds of situations," he said. "I like the pressure, I really enjoy it. It's more difficult to manage but that's the nature of pressure and I'm just happy to have won this time out".
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