Todd Clements was a runaway and deserved winner of the Irish Challenge on the South Course at The K Club in Straffan, Co Kildare, but behind the Englishman an intriguing side-contest for positioning played out with a number of Irish players involved and which resulted in teenager Tom McKibbin securing a runner-up finish and many fringe benefits for his fine performance.
Clements had entered the final round with a five-strokes advantage and closed the deal with a well-constructed 68 for a winning total of 19-under-par 269, ultimately finishing six shots clear of his closest challenger McKibbin.
McKibbin, the 19-year-old from Holywood in Co Down who turned professional after failing to earn selection for last year’s Walker Cup, made a sensational start to his bid to chase down Clements with a run of six successive birdies on his outward run with an untimely bogey on the ninth stalling his momentum as he signed for a 66.
Among the rewards for his second placed finish was to claim the Christy O’Connor Jnr Memorial Trophy — awarded to the leading Irish player in the field — and also a guaranteed invitation to play in next year’s Horizon Irish Open on the DP World Tour, which is scheduled to be played on the North Course, which hosted the Ryder Cup in 2006.
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“I feel great. It was a good week and the start today was pretty special. Six in a row was something very good! It’s an honour to win the trophy and to get the invite for next year,” said McKibbin who also strengthened his quest to win a full European Tour card via the Challenge Tour order of merit. McKibbin’s second place finish saw him move from 30th to 15th on the updated Race to Mallorca standings.
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All in all, it proved to be a fruitful tournament for a number of Irishmen. John Murphy, too, found a run of form in closing with a 70 for 277 in third place, while Conor Purcell and Gary Hurley were among those who finished in tied-fifth.
For Clements, the win proved emotional and also hugely constructive in jumping him to fourth on those Race to Mallorca standings.
“It’s been an unbelievable four days. I was pushed right to the wire, it doesn’t really look like it but it’s been a great week where everything clicked. I managed to get over the line and I’m absolutely delighted,” said the 25-year-old Clements, adding: “It’s a big step in the right direction for me. I’ve been pushing for it for a while but the support my team have given me is amazing.
“My mum and dad, what they’ve actually put themselves out to do, hopefully I can have a strong end to the season and get my DP World Tour card, that’s something I’ve dreamed of as a kid and would be for them. What they’ve sacrificed for me is no end, so I can’t thank them enough.”
On the DP World Tour, Zimbabwean-born American Sean Crocker made a breakthrough win on the circuit where he finished with a 65 for a total of 22-under-par 266 for a one stroke winning margin over England’s Eddie Pepperell at Fairmont St Andrews.
Crocker, who started the 2022 season with eight missed cuts and a retirement in his first nine events, was visibly relieved as he holed his four-foot par putt at the last to secure the trophy.
Of that winning moment, he said: “That putt looked like it was 20 feet, the hole looked like it was half an inch wide. Right off the face I knew it was a well-struck putt. As I looked up and I saw it drop, I was just telling myself, don’t start crying ... it just shows that you don’t know what this game will bring you. We go out every day trying our hardest. We can play terrible for a long time and then all of a sudden you have a week like this where every bounce seemed to go my way, putts dropped, I hit the ball beautifully. It makes me appreciate this game I play and what I get to do for a living.”
Niall Kearney finished with a 70 for 276 for a share of 22nd while fellow-Dubliner David Carey — playing on a sponsor’s invitation — signed off with a 69 for 283 in tied-61st.
In the Trust Scottish Women’s Open, a co-sanctioned event on the LPGA and LET, Japan’s Ayaka Furue stormed to a maiden win in her rookie season as the 21-year-old sensationally closed with a course record 62 for a total of 21-under-par total of 267, three shots clear of runner-up Celine Boutier.
Stephanie Meadow geared up for next week’s AIG Women’s Open with a final round 70 for 283 which gave her a share of 38th place.
