Oliver Farr shot a superb 63 to win the Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour at Morocco’s Royal Dar Es Salam Golf Club – the third win of his career. Picture by EUROPEAN TOUR

OLIVER Farr carded a scintillating nine-under par 63 in the final round to produce a stunning comeback and win his third European Challenge Tour title at Morocco’s Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour.

The Welshman started the day four shots behind overnight leaders Jack Senior and Joel Sjöholm.

But Farr soon charged up the leaderboard with three consecutive birdies from the third hole, picking up two further shots on the seventh and eighth to reach the turn in just 31 strokes.

Looking to secure his first victory since the 2017 Foshan Open, the 31-year-old kept his foot firmly on the pedal, posting four further birdies over his back nine, including on the 18^th, to finish on 15 under.

That ensured he recorded a three-shot victory over Lancastrian Senior, who finished in second place at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.

It was an emotional win for Farr, who has played only 11 Challenge Tour events this season after a busy and difficult year away from the course.

As well as missing events to support his wife after the birth of their second child earlier in the year, he lost his grandmother as well as suffering a death on his partner’s side of the family.

All of which forced him to miss tournaments as he fought to regain his full Euorpean Tour playing privileges after losing his card in 2018.

“It’s been a hard year for me and my family, so to get this win is extra special not just for me but for everyone back home,” said Farr.

“If I’m honest, I didn’t really think about winning when I went to bed last night, so to come back on top today was brilliant,” added Farr, who is attached to Hereford’s Burghill Valley GC.

“To shoot nine-under par on any course is amazing. I left myself in some tricky places today, but my putter felt really good and I holed a couple of really nice ones along the way as well which always helps.

“It is my third victory now on the Challenge Tour and it’s always great to win no matter where you are on the rankings.

“I’ve only got three events left now so I’ve still got to play great and hopefully I can continue this form until the end of the season.

“I always feel like I can win tournaments but as the year goes on you start to question whether you can, so to get this win just feels great,” added Farr, who first played the game as a seven-year-old at Kidderminster’s Cleobury Golf Club, and played for Shropshire and Herefordshire as a junior.

With his win, Farr moves from 37th to 13th on the Road to Mallorca rankings as he eyes his third promotion onto the European Tour, following successful Challenge Tour campaigns in 2014 and 2017.

Senior settled for second place after a closing two-under 70, but it cemented his place in the all-important top 15 in the Road to Mallorca rankings.

The winner of the ISPS Handa World Invitational tournament in Northern Ireland, in August, moved up seven spots into fourth position.

The 2011 Walker Cup player finished one shot clear of 20-year-old Dane Oliver Hundebøll, who finished on 11-under after a stunning six-under 66 on Sunday to record the best result of his young career.

For full results from Lalla Aïcha Challenge Tour click here.

•The Challenge Tour now heads back to Europe for the Stone Irish Challenge from October 10-13, which marks the first of the final four events on the 2019 Road to Mallorca, in November, with a trip to China in between.

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CALUM Hill picked up the second win in his last three starts by sealing a one-shot victory at the Made in Denmark Challenge.

The Scot began the final day in a five-way tie for the lead, but birdied his first two holes – and then continued to push further under par, playing the sort of game which has characterised the last month of his career.

In a run of form beginning at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, where the 24-year-old finished as the joint low-Scot, he has played four tournaments in a combined 67-under par, winning the Euram Bank Open.

Hill also finished tied-third at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge, before triumphing this week in Skanderborg.

“I had a fantastic week up in Scotland with it being my first taste of a Rolex Series event,” said Hill, a Craigie Hill member, who hails from Kircaldy, and has been attached to Gleneagles since the spring, after signing for Edinburgh-based Bounce golf management firm last summer.

“Having a nice finish there just put a little cherry on top and gave me a little bit of confidence going forward.

“Then winning in Austria was a really big pick up and it got me feeling good. I didn’t get it done last week in Finland, but I’m very happy to have another good week here in Denmark.

“If you can keep having good weeks it makes a big difference,” added Hill, who won two pro events in the USA in 2017, after finishing his studies at the University of Western New Mexico.

Hill now finds himself second in the Challenge Tour Rankings, and in pursuit of a third win this season, which would see him immediately graduate to the European Tour under the three-win rule.

Hill said: “A third win would obviously be the best outcome if that were able to happen.

“If not I’ll carry on for the rest of the season and hope to stay in that top 15 and get a European Tour card for next year,” said the former

“But I’m very happy with how things have panned out and I can’t complain at all,” said Hill, who qualified for the US Open last year at Shinnecock Hills, making the cut before finishing 61st.

Joel Sjöholm carded rounds of 65, 69, 65 and 68 to finish alone in second. The Swede pushed Hill right to the end, making a brilliant up-and-down on the final hole to secure his position on 22-under, and force Hill to make an up-and-down of his own for the win.

Sjöholm’s runner-up finish was his second of the season, and moved him 30 places up the rankings into eighth.

The low-Dane honours at the Made in Denmark Challenge went to Benjamin Poke, who set the clubhouse target of 20-under and finished in a tie for third with Dutchman Daan Huizing.

Another notable performance from the Danish contingent came from 21-year-old amateur John Axelsen, who finished tied-fifth on 19-under.

The University of Florida student formed part of the Denmark’s first winning team at last year’s World Amateur Team Championships, playing with rising Challenge Tour stars Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard.

Hampshire’s Richard Bland, who shot a superb 61 on Friday, to jump to the top of the leaderboard, could only card a level-par 72 while Hoylake’s Matthew Jordan, who was also bidding for a second win of the season, shot 70 to finish fifth.

The Royal Liverpool member was one of five players to share the overnight lead alongside Hill and Sjoholm, Bland and Finland’s Roope Kakko, who dropped to 10th after a final round 71.

•The Challenge Tour will now travel to the innovative ISPS Handa World Invitational Men | Women, which is being presented by Nial Horan’s Modest! Golf Management company.

The ground-breaking event will mark the first time that men and women in Europe will compete in one tournament for equal prize funds.

It will take place at Galgorm Spa and Golf Resort, in Northern Ireland, from August 15-18.

Ironically, Hill won his first European Challenge Tour event in just his fifth start of his professional career, at Galgorm a year ago, when it hosted the Northern Ireland Open.

•For the full results of the Made in Denmark Challenge click here.

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ROYAL Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan’s breakout season continues as he takes a share of the lead into the final round of the Made in Denmark Challenge, on Saturday.

The 23-year-old, who is playing in his first season on the European Challenge Tour, has carded opening rounds of 65, 68 and 66 to sit in a five-way tie for the lead on 17-under par.

The former Walker Cup player began his campaign for a European Tour card on a high note, with a top 10 finish at the season-opening Turkish Airlines Challenge.

The Merseyside native passed up the chance to play a second Walker Cup at his home club in September by turning pro at the end of last year, having won the Lytham Trophy by nine strokes – he also won the 2017 St Andrews Links Trophy at the Home of Golf.

And Jordan announced himself to the golfing world in May by taking the first round lead at the Betfred British Masters at Hillside – just a sbort drive from where he grew up.

With wind in his sails, Jordan notched consecutive top 10s on the Challenge Tour in France and Spain, before capturing his first victory at the Italian Challenge Open Eneos Motor Oil, in June.

Currently occupying the third position on the rankings, a win tomorrow would go a long way towards cementing his European Tour card.

But Jordan – whose first big win as an amteur came at North Hants in the Hampshire Hog in 2016, acknowledged there is still much to be done at Ry Golfklub Silkeborg, where scoring has been low all week, and his game plan will remain unchanged.

“Within myself, I’m trying to play as aggressively as possible without being silly,” Jordan said. “Whether I’m last or first, to be honest I’m still going to do the same thing.

“It’s difficult because you know everyone is making birdies out here and because everyone is, you put pressure on yourself then to try and make birdies.

“I think that’s the actual challenge this week, is to try and stay patient and try to be aggressive. You’ve got to make birdies otherwise it feels like you’re going backwards.”

Sharing the lead with Jordan is Finland’s Roope Kakko, who was in front of the field for most of the day before a double-bogey on the 17th hole dropped him back to the field.

Despite the miscue, Kakko remains happy to be competing after being hospitalised only two weeks ago with reactive arthritis.

“I wasn’t too disappointed after 17 to be honest,” Kakko said. “These things happen. It’s a long tournament – there’s one round to go and you can’t get too down on yourself.

“I’m just happy to be playing tournament golf and to be tied for the lead. I’m just happy, and I’ve got a great opportunity tomorrow.”

The low round of the day, and of the tournament so far, was carded by Hampshire’s Richard Bland, who made 10 birdies and an eagle on his way to an 11-under par 61, which moved him up 51 places into a share of the lead.

The 46-year-old from Southampton is positioned ahead of Jordan in the money list, and a win could move him to the top spot.

Rounding out the five players who share the lead are Scotland’s Calum Hill, who has recorded a win and a tied-third place finish in his last two starts on the Challenge Tour – and Sweden’s Joel Sjöholm, another proven winner on at this level having won in 2017.

Much like its counterpart event on the European Tour, the Made in Denmark Challenge continues to break the mould.

This year in Skanderborg, the field has been cut to the top 45 professionals and ties for the last day, which fell at 10-under par.

Due to expected weather, the final round starting times have been moved up, and are set to begin at 7:30am local time, from both the first and 10th tees, with the last group of Sjöholm, Bland and Hill set to go at 8:50 am.

For live scoring click here

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