Wednesday 23 / October / 2024
Muscat: Joel Stalter performed majestically on the final day of the Swedish Challenge hosted by Robert Karlsson to claim his first European Challenge Tour title and secure his spot in the season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, which takes place in Muscat's spectacular Almouj Golf, Muscat from November 2 to 5.
The Frenchman was five strokes behind overnight leader Jeff Karlsson, but reduced the deficit with four birdies on the front nine and dramatically beat both Welshman Oliver Farr and Englishman Ben Stow in a two-hole play-off. This hard-fought victory helped Stalter catapult to ninth from 26th in the Road to Oman after winning 32,000 points.
“This win will push me up in the rankings I am sure but the important thing for me was that I managed to hold my nerve in the play-off,” said the 24 year old, who also earned an invite for next month’s KLM Open with this victory.
“It has been two years where I have stayed patient and felt like I was getting close, but never getting rewarded, so it felt like all my hard work paid off.”
Farr and Stow shot up the Road to Oman Rankings with their runner-up finishes to all but seal their spots in the Challenge Tour’s grand finale in November. They both went home with cheques for €18,000, which helped Farr rise from 35th to 21st and Stow climb from 18th to 11th as they continue in their quest to gain promotion to the European Tour next season.
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.
There has only been one change towards the summit of the Road to Oman rankings. Frenchman Romain Langasque has leapfrogged last week’s winner Ryan Fox, who is featuring for New Zealand in the Rio Olympics, into second. Englishman Jordan L Smith is still leading on 77,566 points with 11 tournaments remaining.
