Monday 16 / December / 2024
Muscat: Alexander Björk sealed an inaugural European Challenge Tour title in the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge to catapult from 19th to third in the Road to Oman Rankings and secure his spot in the season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, which takes place here in Oman at the spectacular Almouj Golf, Muscat, from Wednesday, November 2 to Saturday, November 5.
Sweden’s Björk, who cashed a winner’s cheque for €33,600, has been in brilliant form recently, finishing in the top 15 in his previous four tournaments. However, he went one better this weekend in France to help him guarantee his spot in the prestigious season-finale which is only eligible for the top 45 players on the Road to Oman Rankings.
“I’m so happy – I may have made it a little bit too exciting in the end,” said Björk. “My game is in a good place, and it started at the Nordea Masters on the European Tour. I had a bad Sunday but I learned from that and I knew my game was good enough to be at the top of the European Tour, so I then thought if I can do that there I should be able to do it on the Challenge Tour too, so I’ve been more confident since that.”
Australian Nick Cullen and Englishman Aaron Rai finished in joint-second after both losing out by a stroke to Björk. They have both made significant progress in the Road to Oman after each winning 18,900 points. Cullen has shot up to 40th from 158th in the Rankings while Rai has moved into the coveted top 15 from 28th.
Another player to make a noteworthy climb in the Rankings was Sebastian Heisele who leaped from 24th to 15th after a fourth-place finish in France. He now has a fantastic opportunity of joining Björk in the field for the season-ending tournament in November.
As well as a share of a €400,000 prize fund on offer for victory in the prestigious NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, the top 15 players on the Road to Oman Rankings following the conclusion of the tournament will earn their playing cards for next season’s European Tour International Schedule. In addition, the top three players will also win a share of the lucrative €60,000 Bonus Pool.
England’s Jordan L Smith maintains his leading position in the Road to Oman with 75,694 points from 11 events played having claimed his maiden Challenge Tour title at the Red Sea Egyptian Challenge Presented by Hassan Allam Properties in April. Romain Langasque is in second place with 68,336 points, while the latest victor Björk is in third on 67,395 and Matthieu Pavon has dropped to fourth with 65,114 points.
