James Busby qualifies for the 2013 European Tour season
James Busby of England entered the field of the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final as the lowest ranked player in the European Challenge Tour Rankings, with the 45th position in hand.
Starting off his week at San Domenico Golf, he would have never thought of making it to the 2013 European Tour season through a finish in the top-21 in the Challenge Tour Rankings.
The Englishman got off to a confident start in the opening round and posted a sparkling five-under par 66.
Entering the last two rounds, he was nine-under par for the tournament, thanks to another decent round of 67 on Thursday. During the third round, he faced a number of hiccups, but recovered well to post another 67.
He conceded a total of five bogeys on Friday. However, he managed to more than just offset them by carding seven birdies and an eagle.
In the final round, he remained flawless throughout the day and posted five birdies on his scorecard for an 18-under par tournament score.
The highlight of his performance on Saturday included a fine run on the back nine of the course, which included a total four birdies along with five par putts.
Talking to the reporters, he admitted that he was really nervous, standing on the 18th green, as the par save was essential to assure him the share of the second place on the leaderboard.
“I was very nervous standing over that and I couldn’t really feel anything. I was just very happy and very relieved to see it roll in,” he said.
As a result, he finished tied for the second position with Joachim B Hansen, and surged to the 16th spot in the Challenge Tour Rankings.
It was nothing less than a miracle, as the 26-year-old was there in the field just to enjoy the game and was preparing himself for the qualifying school.
After he came to know about his final position in the rankings, he himself was shocked and did not have words to express his pleasure on earning the European Tour card.
“I said to my girlfriend, who’s caddying for me, at the start of the week that we’re just here to enjoy it and try to make a few quid,” he said. “I’ve done that and come out with a European Tour card to boot. It’s the stuff of dreams really”.
He added, “Up until today I was thinking about preparing for the Qualifying School, so I can’t really put into words how delighted I am right now”.
Espen Kofstad, in the meantime, moved from the 11th place to the top spot in the rankings through a victory at the San Domenico Golf course. It was his second victory of the season on the Challenge Tour.
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