Hoey tied fifth in Challenge de España
Oskar Lengden
Michael Hoey closed with a 68 to finish tied for fifth in the Challenge de España at Izki Golf in the Basque Country
The Galgorm Castle man finished six shots behind Sweden's Oskar Lengden, who fired a five-under 67 to win by four shots from England's Ross McGowan and Dutchman Will Besseling on 15-under par.
Ardglass' Cormac Sharvin tied 15th on five under with a 74 leaving Derry's Ruaidhri McGee a shot further back in 23rd.
Lengden began the day tied for the lead with Besseling but pulled away from the rest of the field with a superb five under par back nine of 31.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Lengden said after closing with a birdie. “It was a great back nine, I couldn’t have asked for more. I’m very pleased right now and I’ll probably be even happier later tonight.
“The back nine was really crucial. It’s great for my self-confidence to know that I’m able to do that. I’m really pleased with the way I closed this tournament.
“The final hole was a nice feeling. I was trying to enjoy the moment, even though I couldn’t really relax because I’ve obviously seen people choke out. It felt great to close out with a birdie as well and it means a lot.
“It was a really steady week. This is the first time that I’ve felt like I’ve been in control over my swing. It was a great week and I hope this is the start of something really stable. It’s been a great week for me.”
Victory in Spain moves Oscar Lengden to fifth place on the Road to Ras Al Khaimah with 43,310 points, just under 53,000 points behind No 1 Lorenzo Gagli.
Challenge de España, Izki Golf (Par 72)
273 O Lengden (Swe) 69 69 68 67;
277 R McGowan (Eng) 72 71 66 68, W Besseling (Ned) 69 70 67 71;
278 N Lemke (Swe) 71 69 69 69;
279 Michael Hoey (Nir) 71 71 69 68, C Braeunig (Ger) 69 72 66 72,
281 J Senior (Eng) 70 70 72 69, J Brun (Fra) 69 66 72 74; 282 J Sjöholm (Swe) 70 70 69 73, R Sciot-Siegrist (Fra) 72 69 73 68, S Tarrio Ben (Esp) 73 72 68 69, P Mejow (Ger) 72 71 71 68, A Knappe (Ger) 73 69 69 71, J Hansen (Den) 72 72 68 70.
Other Irish
283 Cormac Sharvin (Nir) 65 75 74 69;
284 Ruaidhri McGee (Irl) 72 70 68 74.
