Sharvin top Irish finisher in Ras Al Khaimah
Cormac Sharvin. Picture: Jimmy Penrose
Cormac Sharvin went from strength to strength as he recovered from an opening 74 to finish tied 24th in the Ras Al Khaimah 2016 Golf Challenge.
The 23 year old from Ardglass (€2,758) was 89th after the first day but he slowly climbed the leaderboard and followed a pair of 67s with a two under 70 to finish on 10 under par at Al Hamra Golf Club in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.
He was 10 shots behind England’s Jordan Smith, who produced a back nine charge to claim his a second European Challenge Tour win of the year and top spot in the Road to Oman rankings heading into the season finale.
The Englishman made four birdies in five holes to take a one-shot lead down the last hole where a safe par meant the 23 year old edged José-Filipe Lima into second place with a final round 66.
The win returns him to Number One spot in the Rankings – meaning his caddie will wear a golden bib at the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final next week – and he was delighted to match his early season victory in Egypt with another trophy in similarly hot conditions.
“I’m over the moon to be honest, really happy,” he said. “I missed the last two cuts but I knew my game was there or thereabouts and I actually played really well last Friday in China so I wasn’t far away.
Picture: Jordan Smith
“I just came out this week and relaxed, took my mind of things, and gave it my all, and it all paid off today – the course suited my eye and I really enjoyed it, and of course I’m delighted with the end result.
“It feels very similar to that win in Egypt – Ras Al Khaimah and this course remind me a lot of that week, which is probably a good thing. I sweat just as much as anybody else but the heat seems to suit me.
“I did something similar a year ago, winning late to win the Order of Merit on the EuroPro Tour, and I’m really targeting that top spot in the Road to Oman Rankings now – I got my caddie the gold bib for next week at least, so that’s the first job done and he’s happy about that!
“I think we’re going to go into Dubai tonight to celebrate a bit, have a few drinks I’m sure.
“I definitely want to win the Rankings but I’m just going to go out there in Oman, not think about it too much about finishing on top, I’m just going to go out there and play my game.
“To be honest I never expected a year as good as this one so early into my Challenge Tour career. I knew my game was in the right shape to compete and that win early on just boosted my confidence and it’s gone pretty well since!”
Lima’s outstanding weekend rounds of 66 and 65 took the Portuguese into outright second and have lifted him into the top 16 of the Rankings at the timeliest moment of the year, with European Tour cards decided in seven days’ time.
Former Dubai resident Johan Edfors was right at home as he closed with a 67 to take third place on 17 under par, with his fellow Swede Marcus Kinhult and Spaniard Pedro Oriol sharing fourth place to secure top 70 spots on the Road to Oman and secure their Challenge Tour status for next season.
Jack Hume (€1,711) was 42nd on eight under after rounds of 67, 70, 73 and 70 while Chris Selfridge (€792) was 67th on one under after rounds of 69, 72, 72 and 74.
Final scores:
268 J Smith (Eng) 69 66 67 66,
269 J Lima (Por) 71 67 66 65,
271 J Edfors (Swe) 68 66 70 67,
272 P Oriol (Esp) 69 66 67 70, M Kinhult (Swe) 68 67 65 72,
274 J Heath (Eng) 70 67 66 71, P Maddy (Eng) 68 72 64 70, M Orrin (Eng) 65 70 67 72, R Langasque (Fra) 66 67 70 71, D Van Driel (Ned) 71 70 68 65,
275 C Ford (Eng) 68 68 70 69, P Widegren (Swe) 65 69 69 72, O Stark (Swe) 70 69 69 67, D Law (Sco) 68 69 66 72, J Senior (Eng) 72 66 69 68,
276 G Porteous (Eng) 67 67 69 73, R Fox (Nzl) 67 68 72 69, M Delpodio (Ita) 70 72 65 69,
277 A Rai (Eng) 69 72 69 67, M Ovesen (Den) 71 71 69 66, J Makitalo (Fin) 69 72 68 68, E Kofstad (Nor) 66 73 70 68, R Saxton (Ned) 70 72 67 68,
278 D Perrier (Fra) 70 68 70 70, K Samooja (Fin) 74 66 68 70, A Tadini (Ita) 70 67 70 71, P Angles (Esp) 71 64 69 74, C Sharvin (Nir) 74 67 67 70, D Stewart (Sco) 68 69 66 75, N Cullen (Aus) 67 71 70 70, J Girrbach (Sui) 68 71 69 70,
279 O Farr (Wal) 73 67 69 70, B Ritthammer (Ger) 69 69 73 68, A Saddier (Fra) 70 68 69 72, S Henry (Sco) 66 73 70 70, S Heisele (Ger) 74 68 68 69, A Björk (Swe) 71 69 69 70, M Lampert (Ger) 69 69 74 67, K Eriksson (Swe) 72 68 68 71, G Forrest (Sco) 67 71 69 72, W Besseling (Ned) 68 72 69 70,
280 B Stow (Eng) 70 72 70 68, D Frittelli (RSA) 71 66 72 71, S Forsström (Swe) 68 72 71 69, S Tiley (Eng) 70 70 69 71, J Hume (Irl) 67 70 73 70,
281 M Søgaard (Den) 69 72 70 70, M Armitage (Eng) 70 71 69 71, M Pavon (Fra) 72 68 70 71, J Dantorp (Swe) 68 69 74 70,
282 J Stalter (Fra) 69 72 71 70, M Wiegele (Aut) 66 69 71 76, J Barnes (Eng) 72 69 72 69, R Santos (Por) 68 71 70 73,
283 C Del Moral (Esp) 70 72 71 70, M Schneider (Ger) 69 73 72 69, B Poke (Den) 69 70 70 74, R Enoch (Wal) 70 71 72 70, R Thomas (am) (Ind) 71 70 70 72,
284 T Detry (Bel) 73 69 71 71, A Karlsson (Swe) 71 71 71 71, E Dubois (Fra) 73 67 72 72,
285 P Mejow (Ger) 72 66 71 76, N Ravano (Ita) 69 68 74 74,
286 G King (Eng) 72 70 71 73, J White (Eng) 68 70 74 74,
287 C Selfridge (Nir) 69 72 72 74,
290 J Sjöholm (Swe) 72 70 71 77, S Jeppesen (Swe) 69 73 72 76,
** R Kellett (Sco) 68 73 69 DQ.
